In In the Tree Top, Candide Jones and Steve Emery have captured the essence of Rock-a-Bye Baby and have taken the lyrics even further with a retelling of their own.
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Blog: The Children's Book Review (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Music, Ages 0-3, Ages 4-8, Picture Books, Author Showcase, I Spy, Bedtime Books, Lullabies, Nursery Rhyme Books, Dedicated Review, Candide Jones, Steve Emery, Add a tag
Blog: The Open Book (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Book News, Diversity, parents, New Releases, grandparents, monica brown, recycling, eco-friendly, blankets, lullabies, Musings & Ponderings, Lee & Low Likes, Diversity, Race, and Representation, Interviews with Authors and Illustrators, Hob Ikh Mira Mantl, i had a little coat, maya's blanket, yiddish folk song, Add a tag
Out this September from the Children’s Book Press imprint of LEE & LOW, Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya puts a child-focused Latino spin on the traditional Yiddish folk song “Hob Ikh Mir a Mantl” (“I Had a Little Coat”) about a piece of fabric that is made into smaller and smaller items. We interviewed author Monica Brown about how she’s been inspired by the book.
1. What inspired you to write a children’s book based on the Yiddish folk song “Hob Ikh Mira Mantl”?
I’ve always loved the idea song, which is as much about creativity as it is about recycling and creating something from nothing. The song has inspired several books, in fact, and still inspires me. I often draw on my cultural heritage for inspiration, and Maya’s Blanket/La manta de Maya is no exception, paying homage to different aspects of my Jewish and Latina identity. It celebrates the two languages I speak, side by side on the page, along with a history of multigenerational storytelling passed down from both sides of my family.
I love the message of the song–that an object can be transformed again and again, and ultimately into something intangible and lasting through effort, creativity, and imagination. I like the idea that we can extend the life of things we love—with our own two hands or our imagination.
2. Did you have a favorite lullaby that your parents sang to you growing up? What about a lullaby that you sang to your daughters?
My mom sang me wonderful songs in Spanish. As a child I loved in particular Tengo una muñeca vestida de azul, which translates into I have a doll dressed in blue. When her granddaughter and namesake Isabella was born, my mother, Isabel Maria, made up a special song for her. It started with this line “Isabelita, Chiquita bonita de mi Corazon” and ended with “Corazon de melon!” It was a silly sweet line, but I’ve forgotten the lines in between, and now my mother is gone.
As a child, my only babysitters I knew were my tías and my Nana, my paternal grandmother, who taught me to embroider and sew. I stayed overnight at my Nana’s often and when I did, “the sandman” would visit us at night. For those who don’t know, the Sandman myth, which originates in Europe, is of a character who sprinkles sand on children’s eyes, bringing them happy dreams. My Scottish and Italian Nana would be sure the sandman visited each night. If I behaved just okay during the day the sandman would sprinkle regular sand on my forehead to help me fall asleep. If I was good, I would get silver sand, and if I was very, very good, I would get gold sand sprinkled on my forehead. I could feel the different types of sand as my Nana’s hands smoothed across my forehead, hair, and closed eyes.
3. Do you have an object today that’s your “Maya’s blanket,” i.e. that you are continually finding new uses for and don’t want to part with?
As an adult I have more of a subject than an object, and it is the subject of childhood memory. I think I became a children’s writer so I can go back and be in that moment of childhood innocence to remember what it feels like to be comforted by a beloved grandmother or my mother, to remember those minutes and hours, forever gone, of days spend with my Nana, who patiently taught me to embroider, and to sew and stitch or my mother, who shared story after story of her childhood in Northern Peru, and her dreams and her art.
I’ve never used an electric sewing machine, but thanks to my Nana I’ve still managed to stitch and mend and sew my daughter’s things—even a Halloween costume or two with those basic stitches my grandmother taught. I have my Nana’s sewing basket still, just as I am surrounded by my mother’s paintings each time I pick up a pen or open up my computer to write.
5. MAYA’S BLANKET provides an important message about recycling! Do you have any tips on how people can be more eco-friendly?
As a teacher, I always think the place to begin with is education and The Environmental Protection Agency has a website with lots of resources for children, parents, and especially teachers: http://www2.epa.gov/students. I also love that the Sierra Club has a student coalition for high school and college students that trains and connects young environmental activists: http://www.sierraclub.org/youth. Finally, well, I want to give a shout out to my fellow writers by highlighting Authors for Earth Day: http://www.authorsforearthday.org, a group that supports conservation through literacy.
It is my hope that children and the adults in their lives can become more aware and conscious of the challenges using our natural resources responsibly, and looking to for more creative solutions to persistent problems.
About the Book:
Maya’s Blanket/ La Manta de Maya
by Monica Brown, illustrated by David Diaz
Out September 2015
Ages 5-9 ~ 32 pp. ~ bilingual
Learn more about the book here.
Blog: Galley Cat (Mediabistro) (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Emma Walton Hamilton, spoken word albums, Awards, Celebrities, poetry, Jim McMullan, humor, Audiobooks, Jon Stewart, Earth, The Daily Show, Julie Andrews, Grammy Awards, lullabies, Add a tag
Last night, Jon Stewart & The Daily Show writers won the Best Spoken Word Album Grammy Award for Earth (The Book): A Visitor’s Guide to the Human Race. Julie Andrews and her daughter (Emma Walton Hamilton) won the Best Spoken Word Album for Children award for the poetry collection, Julie Andrews’ Collection Of Poems, Songs, And Lullabies.
In the video embedded above, Andrews reads a poem. Andrews also won the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In her acceptance speech earlier this month, the actress talked about her work as a children’s author.
When Stewart read at a New York City Barnes & Noble, he explained the book’s premise: “This is the entirety of the human experience. How we got here, what we did while we were here, and obviously, how we’re leaving. We’ll tell you, it’s really quite funny.”
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Add a CommentBlog: Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Amy Robbins-Wilson, mothers-to-be, book, mothering, cd, lullaby, lullabies, new mothers, Add a tag
Blog: Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: lullabies, Amy Robbins-Wilson, new mothers guide, book for new mothers, prayerful songs, mothers-to-be, angelic cd, Add a tag
LullabyLink.com
Lullabylink.com is dedicated to serving parents who would like to incorporate music into their lives with their children. At Lullabylink.com we believe in the power of music to link generations. We further believe that lullabies and baby music are crucial in the development of the arts in our culture. If our children learn that music comes only from “professionals” or from the tv or radio box then they will learn to be consumers. If they learn that it comes from all people, they will learn to be creators.
Lullabylink.com provides parents with lyrics and melodies to over 40 lullabies and ideas as to how to use music with their infant, their toddler and even with babies in the neonatal intensive care unit. Studies report that there is a decrease in the number of parents singing to their children. We hope to be a part of reversing that trend by encouraging parents and giving them the tools they need to interact with their children musically.
TransformationalMothering.com
TransformationalMothering.com is designed to help mothers who have questions about post partum issues. There are videos, articles, and information for new mothers as well as Amy’s blog, and links to her lullaby site LullabyLink.com. You will also find more information about the book she wrote about her journey through the post partum period entitled Transformational Mothering-A Prayerful Companion for New Mothers, and to her CD of prayers and original lullabies for mothers and babies entitled The Divine Hours of Motherhood.
Amy, would you please tell us a bit about the book and cd?
Transfor
Blog: Writing for Children with Karen Cioffi (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: children, parents, songs, singing, babies, mp3, lullabies, Lullaby Link, Add a tag
Motherhood is such a transition! And it is a transformation. I think so many of us start off with careers and then find our hearts pulled in two directions once we have babies. I'll be adding this book to my list--even though my sons have managed to survive this far. :]
Hi, Tara,
Hey, hang on to the book...one day your sons will have kids! :) They'll appreciate this book.
Thanks for stopping by.
Karen