Book Nook: Sing Out!

 

The Secret Mountain, a Montreal-based publisher marking their 20th anniversary of publishing award-winning music-forward children’s books, just released a new book - Sing Out! Six Classic Folk Songs for Tomorrow. Original illustrations by Sophie Casson offer an whimsical rendering of timeless songs (“She’ll Be Coming ‘Round the Mountain,” “Little Bingo,” “This Old Man,” “Pop Goes the Weasel,” “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad,” “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”). Each takes on a life of its own to become a stand-alone story featuring zany characters. The 176-page book (it's not as overwhelming as it sounds) invites family singalongs, as it includes a recording of all six songs by the duo Sin & Swoon. Casson is an acclaimed Quebec-based artist whose illustrations frequently appear in major publications. I teach piano, and I loved the chance to review this book. I have been looking for books to put in my music room for siblings who are waiting for lessons, and this one is perfect - the short amount of words on each page make it accessible for my youngest readers, but the illustrations are engaging enough for a little older readers as well. It's a really fun book to celebrate some classic songs.

The Secret Mountain, distributed by Independent Publishers Group (IPG), offers a rich and varied catalog of books, e-books, and music. Visit www.thesecretmountain.com for the latest news.