Since June, Claire and I reviewed several books in our Translated Tuesday summer series, but all have been for adults. In this age of instant technology and globalization, encountering other cultures through literature isn’t only for adults, kids need to know their world is larger than their neighborhood. Our answer, the Tell Me a Story CD series. These three CDs, Tell Me a Story, Tell Me a Story – Animal Magic, and Tell Me a Story – Women of Wonder aren’t direct translations of foreign tales, but a re-telling of folktales formatted for children that opens up the world for them.
A perfect way to introduce children to different cultures is through stories. It’s fun to learn what is different, but even more so what is the same. These are charming stories that promote universal values: honor, courage, love, care, friendship, respect, community. Each is introduced with music native to the location of the story and frequently narrated in an appropriate accent. These CDs feel like a magic carpet ride around the world.
Car trips, whether long or short, can be a challenge with children. Before my kids could read, we traveled near and far with story CDs constantly playing. The key to successful stories is that they have to appeal to the adult driver and the kids. My children liked kids voices and disruptive noises, but those set me on edge. Any story that even hinted at “educational” satisfied me, but a chorus of boring would arise from the back seat. Tell Me a Story is a series I wish we had years ago, we would have memorized these stories.
The original CD, Tell Me a Story, a Parent Choice Silver Honor award winner, establishes the format of different readers for each story. As a story CD devotee, I love the changing voices. Adults and child alike can find even the most amusing reader monotonous after an hour. These readers are actors who give a lively flair to each story. The tales are between 7 and 13 minutes in length, perfect for a story in between errands or right before bedtime, while also amusing to hear the entire CD on a longer trip. The stories on this CD are inspired by folktales from Germany, India, Japan, Ghana, Scotland, Czechoslovakia, Turkey and our own Mississippi.
I love animal stories for younger children, they seem to relate to them so quickly. Tell Me a Story – Animal Magic includes stories of about a tortoise, cat, elephants and mice, crickets, and a coyote. “The Elephant’s Reward,” from India, will sound familiar to many. It’s the story of how the small and the mighty help one another. A herd of elephants move into a field populated by mice (the sound effects for the moving herd are terrific), the elephants agree to avoid certain areas to prevent stepping on the mice, in return the mice agree to help the elephants should the need arise. The enormous elephants can’t conceive of ever needing little mice. One day, hunters arrive, trap the elephants, tie them up with ropes, and then leave them overnight while planning to return the next day for the tusks. During the night the mice arrive, chew through the ropes and free their friends the elephants. A tale perfect to demonstrate to kids that everyone is needed, regardless of how small.
The latest release, out in time for those end of summer trips, is Tell Me a Story – Women of Wonder. “The Cleverest Tune” reminded me of King Lear, appropriately it is a British tale, and appealed to my estate planning past. A father with three children is dying and devises a challenge to determine who will receive the family home. The challenge: the child who can fill each nook and cranny of the house will receive it. I came up with a couple of options, but the daughter was able to satisfy the test multiple times in one sitting – a clever girl.
The Tell Me a Story CD series is a perfect way to introduce children to different cultures while causing a summer road trip to zip along.
Tags: kids translated, story CD
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Trackback from Kids Books Review on September 26, 2009 at 8:20 pm
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