The Secret Mountain, a Montreal-based publisher known for award-winning children’s books that include audio recordings, will release three new titles this fall.
Little Creatures: An Introduction to Classical Music by concert pianist and music educator Ana Gerhard pairs five centuries of music history with stunning illustrations of fascinating little creatures—insects, arachnids, and amphibians. This book-with-music offers an original way for young listeners to discover awe-inspiring classical music and how animals and insects have inspired composers. The book includes a glossary and short biography of composers, along with a CD (and digital download) of 20 musical excerpts performed by internationally-known orchestras.
I liked this book. It was really interesting to see how creatures have been the inspiration for classical works, and it was fun to read to students in my music classes at school.
A variety of creatures, from whales to wolves, cicadas to canaries, and even exotic animals like the sac-winged bat and the club-winged manakin, inspired Pedro Alcalde, the author of Animal Musicians. This “Audio Picture Book” includes information about the characteristics, habitats, and behaviors of 14 animal virtuosos, featuring humorous illustrations by Julio Antonio Blasco. Alcalde, a noted orchestra conductor, invites readers to travel across the globe to discover nature’s best musicians. The colorful hard cover book includes a link to hear them making their signature sounds in the wild.
This was also fun to use in music class. It was a good way to encourage kids to hear the music that exists in the world around them.
In October, The Secret Mountain will add to a growing collection of World Music titles with Songs in the Shade of the Cashew and Coconut Trees. This enchanting collection of 23 traditional songs and rhymes, collected by Nathalie Soussana, pays homage to the rich cultural heritage and multilingual communities of West Africa and the Caribbean. Jean-Christophe Hoarau arranged the 23 musical selections on the enclosed CD, hailing from many countries and cultures, including Gabon, Cape Verde, the Congo and Jamaica. Julie Gueyfier’s vibrant illustrations depict people and musical instruments.
Song lyrics appear transcribed in their original language and translated into English followed by extensive notes describing the cultural background of each song and a world map. The Secret Mountain’s World Music collection continues to be popular, with Songs of the Baobob (2011) one of the publisher’s best-selling titles that received a Children’s Africana Book Award.
Author Ana Gerhard studied piano at the Mexican National Conservatory. In addition to Listen to the Birds, her previous works for The Secret Mountain include Simply Fantastic and Amazing Water. All have won Parents’ Choice and NAPPA Awards and acclaim from public radio hosts and literary critics. Illustrator Mauricio Gómez Morín has created several award-winning picture books and was the official spokesperson for the 36th International Children’s and Youth Book Fair in Mexico City.
Pedro Alcalde is known for his soundtrack work for John Malkovich’s The Dancer. The book was originally published in Spanish and is available in this new English edition for the first time.
The Secret Mountain is celebrating 19 years of publishing music-forward children’s storybooks, with a full catalog of English, French and Spanish books, e-books, and music distributed by Independent Publishers Group (IPG). Visit www.thesecretmountain.
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