Italian Kids Songs and Rhymes: A Mama Lisa Book
Italy! A land with a rich tradition of children's songs and rhymes!
In this book we've gathered over eighty Italian songs and rhymes, presented in their original language and with translations into English. Many have commentary sent to us by our correspondents around the world. It's an ideal resource for teachers of the Italian language, parents who want to share memories with their children, and anyone who loves the Italian culture.
You'll find nursery rhymes like "Batta le Manine" (Clap Your Hands), songs like "La bella lavanderina" (The Pretty Washerwoman) and Christmas carols like the beloved "Tu scendi dalle stelle" (You Come Down from the Stars).
Italy has been at the center of Western civilization for thousands of years, and we've included representatives from that entire time span. So you'll even find a few songs in Latin, the language of the Roman Empire and the Church, like "Personent hodie" (This Day Resounds), a carol from the 1500's.
We're also very pleased to include several songs in different Italian dialects. Italy has had varied linguistic influences over the ages and this has led to many different variants of the language still being spoken there. Many have also been preserved in immigrant communities, particularly in the US, though these are fading as the children and grandchildren of immigrants often speak only English. Yet those same people have treasured memories of the rhymes and songs their grandparents sang to them.
There's not always a sharp distinction between songs sung by children and by adults. So we've included a sampling of popular traditional songs like "Santa Lucia".
"Italian Kids Songs and Rhymes" is produced by Mama Lisa's World, where we work with ordinary people around the globe to build a platform to preserve and exchange traditional culture. Most of the featured songs and rhymes have been provided by our contributors, to whom we're very grateful!
The book works in concert with our web site. At the end of each item, there's a web address to an online version of the song or rhyme. There we are often able to include sheet music, recordings and videos of performances.
We hope this book will help foster love of the Italian language and culture all over the world!
Grazie!
This book includes:
-Italian songs, rhymes, lullabies, and carols
-Each in the original language and with translations into English
-Commentary from ordinary people about what the songs have meant to their lives
-Web links to recordings and sheet music
-Illustrations
About the Author: Lisa Yannucci is the founder and editor-in-chief of Mama Lisa's World, the internet's leading site for international children's songs and culture. She was inspired to start Mama Lisa's World in the mid 1990's, when her young son first became interested in nursery rhymes. She recorded several Mother Goose songs onto a computer and programmed them to play when he clicked a picture. He loved it and she became fascinated with the power of the internet to enrich the lives of children. She made the site public and has since used her background in languages and culture, and her talent as an illustrator, to oversee its tremendous growth.
