Additional information
by Magali Attiogbé (Illustrator), Jean-Christophe Hoarau (Other), Nathalie Soussana (Author)
An enchanting collection of 25 traditional songs pays homage to the rich cultural heritage and multilingual communities of East and Southern Africa. The resulting highly mixed musical styles that are unique to each region demonstrate how they welcomed new horizons through contact with others. A wide array of styles--skipping rope songs from Mozambique, lullabies from South Africa, counting songs from R union, traditional dance tunes from Madagascar--are all performed exquisitely by men, women, and children in more than a dozen languages and dialects. Vibrant compelling artwork and homegrown instruments, such as the tube zither, the kayamb, the bobre, the segakordeon and ravanne drums round off this wonderful celebration of history, language, and culture. Lyrics appear transcribed in their original language and translated to English followed by extensive notes describing the cultural background of each song and a map of East and Southern Africa. This picture book is accompanied by a CD featuring 25 recorded songs along with unique code for the digital download of the audio.
Author Biography
Magali Attiogbé was born in Atakpamé, Togo and moved to France at the age of 3. All through her life she has enjoyed painting and sculpture. In 2002, she obtained an illustration degree at the highly respected École Estienne in Paris. She has illustrated children's books for several French publishing houses, including Milan, Flammarion, Gallimard Jeunesse, and Nathan. Nathalie Soussana has written several musicals and created the Parents' Choice Gold Award-winning Songs from the Garden of Eden. Jean-Christophe Hoarau has worked with musicians like Richard Galliano and Georges Moustaki, and he's been awarded many times the Grand Prix Charles-Cros in France. Julie Gueyfier, a graduate of the Duperré School in Paris, has illustrated several picture books.
