The Lobster Quadrille (and Other Poems for Children), a Singable Picture Book and CD

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: March 12, 2010

• In: Heartfelt Musings | Lyrics | Poetry | Sing Along Tracks | Singable Book Title | Singable Poem | Singable Poetry | Song History | Vocal Tracks
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The Lobster Quadrille (and Other Poems for Children)
Edited by Lucy Simon
Illustrated by Susan Bennett

This book, a compilation of eleven of the very best children’s poems, compliments Lucy and Carly Simon’s Album

http://www.amazon.com/Sing-Songs-Children-Carly-Simon/dp/B001I1SFRA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1268410711&sr=1-1\

I love this collection, made by the Simon Sisters when they were both very young ladies playing these songs in New York City coffee houses.  The songs have an intimate feeling specific to that time and place, with the sisters’ voice complimenting each other, Lucy with her lovely soprano and Carly with her rich alto.

Poems illustrated and set to music in the book, and on the CD, include:

• Wynken, Blynken and Nod (Eugene Field)
• Calico Pie (Edward Lear)
• The Lamplighter (Robert Louis Stevenson)
• The Owl and the Pussycat (Edward Lear)
• Sleep, Baby, Sleep (Traditional Lullaby)
• The Lamb (William Blake)
• The Lobster Quadrille (Lewis Carroll)
• Who Has Seen the Wind (Christina Rossetti)
• I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
• A Red, Red Rose (Robert Burns)
• A Pavane for the Nursery (William Jay Smith)

This album makes for wonderful listening and reading along with the book. The problem with the album, at least for Singable Picture Books, is that the songs are not very “singable.”  They make for fantastic listening, but are not so easy for singing along, or singing solo.  I don’t find myself walking around humming the tunes.

“Wynken, Blynken and Nod” (a poem written by Eugene Field in 1889 and set to music by Lucy Simon in the mid 1960′s), however, is featured in both the book and the album (Track 1) and is one of the tracks which is wonderfully singable.  It is haunting and evocative of the nighttime journey of three children sailing in a wooden shoe on the ocean at night.  You can see a YouTube a Simon Sisters’ coffee house performance of “Wynken, Blynken and Nod”.  The audio is crackly, but the mood is set, and it is fun to journey back to 60′s New York:

Ginger Sands has included Lucy Simon’s musical setting of “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” on her terrific collection of Singable Poems “The Gift of Make Believe”.

This terrific collection features tracks with Ginger Sands’ excellent vocals and separate instrumental tracks so you can sing the songs yourself.
“Wynken, Blynken and Nod” with vocals by Ginger Sands is found on Track 9.  “Wynken, Blynken and Nod” instrumental sing-along is found on Track 19.  You can buy MP3 tracks online:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-of-Make-Believe/dp/B0019VU8QU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1267562676&sr=8-4

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Tags: Carly Simon, Christina Rossetti, Edward Lear, Eugene Field, Ginger Sands, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Lewis Carroll, Lucy Simon, Robert Burns, Robert Louis Stevenson, Simon Sisters, Susan Bennett, William Blake, William Jay Smith