ChiIL Mama is thrilled to bring you 2 of The Secret Mountain's award winning children's book/CD sets, this week and next.
The Little Blue Doggie is slated for October release, so our winner will be one of the first to have a copy anywhere! Enter at the bottom of this post to win. Du-Jay, Sagezilla and ChiIL Mama all enjoyed this story. The illustrations are colorful and full of texture and the songs are truly fun.
I'd read some mixed reviews and comments that this book is scary and disturbing, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but we loved it. Of course my kids also love Harry Potter and Cornelia Funke's books, Edward Gorey and Lemony Snicket. So they do have an appreciation of the macabre. Nonetheless, I didn't think this book was anywhere near as dark as many of those authors' works, not to mention Grimm's fairy tales!
Children vary widely in what they can handle at different ages and what will totally creep them out. We have small friends who watch and read intense stuff with impunity and other small friends who are unhinged by Scooby Doo and literature not meant to be scary at all. So, parents, you know your own offspring.
The Little Blue Doggy, Snag, does have a habit of unraveling, resulting in his yarn being collected by mice, appropriated by birds for nesting material and ultimately he's eaten by mites while locked in the bathroom closet. Yet, his Mother always stitches him back together, no matter how unraveled he gets.
We recommend this book-CD combo, because it has a compelling plot, absurd twist where the dog parents go to the park to see a human zoo of people in cages or "humans on display", and likable tunes that aren't too babyish. I'm a sucker for dark yet oh so amusing lyrics like Hopscotch Song's words, "One, two, three, four. I can hear my Daddy snore. If I knock him on the head, he'll get out of bed." We also like the unexplained, out there song, My Sister is a Popsicle. The Little Blue Doggy is a refreshing antidote to the boring, innocuous fluff that passes for so much childhood literature.
STORYBOOK-MUSIC CD FEATURES SONGS BY
ACCLAIMED COMPOSER LIONEL DAUNAIS
PERFORMED BY MICHELLE CAMPAGNE & FAMILY
The Secret Mountain continues its award-winning series of children’s storybook-music CDs this October with the release of The Little Blue Doggy, which features songs by iconic Canadian composer and lyricist Lionel Daunais and performed by acclaimed singer-songwriters Michelle Campagne & Family. The Little Blue Doggy follows the September release of Swing Café, featuring narration by Grammy-nominee Bebel Gilberto and songs by jazz legends including Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and more, thus continuing The Secret Mountain’s penchant for releasing books that both children and parents can enjoy.
Recently inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame, Lionel Daunais wrote the 13 songs that accompany The Little Blue Doggy. Recipient of numerous awards including the Canadian Music Council Medal and the posthumous Denise-Pelletier Award, Daunais’ songs are light-hearted and musically diverse, including, “Hopscotch Song,” “My Sister Is a Popsicle,” and “The Soles of My Brand New Shoes.”
The title song tells the story of a little blue stuffed doggy who falls victim to famished mites after having been left at home alone. Upon his parent’s return, they discover his soggy red cotton tail on the floor and are faced with the challenge of putting him back together.
The storybook-music CD features vivid textural illustrations by award-winning children’s illustrator Marie Lafrance who has received critical acclaim for La Diablesse and the Baby (a Governor General’s Literary Award finalist), La fee des bonbons and Le Grand voyage de monsieur Caca. Each of The Secret Mountain’s innovative storybook-music CDs features a hardbound book with an album of music included in the back cover. For more information, please visit www.thesecretmountain.com
The Secret Mountain is dedicated to the creation of children’s books, videos and audio recordings of the highest quality. Recent releases include the acclaimed My Name is Chicken Joe, by Trout Fishing in America and Sunday in Kyoto, which features songs by Canadian cultural icon Gilles Vigneault. The Little Blue Doggy is also available in a basic CD-Digipak format with a printable PDF file of the illustrated book.
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