As part of the first generation of kids to grow up with Sesame Street, I was treated to a funny and captivating world full of diversity. The Muppets came in every color and the music and lessons traveled the world in and out of the United States. Today, Sesame Street is just shy of 40 years old and is produced in numerous countries, including South Africa and Bangladesh. Although the organization is quite a bit younger, Putumayo shares a mission for teaching and entertaining children about various cultures, with titles such as the recently reviewed Brazilian Playground.
Now, Sesame Workshop (the non-profit company that produces the landmark TV show) and Putumayo World Music (which donates a portion of their CD sales to non-profits) present a marvelous collection of songs that represent a dozen homelands. Classic Street personalities and locally created characters populate the songs that celebrate childhood and society at large.
Among the thirteen tunes to enjoy is Pollution Song, sung in the Vendi language of South Africa by the character Kami, who teaches about keeping the country’s land and water clean. The original U.S. version of “Elmo’s Song” plays right before a journey across the globe to China, which offers a delightful rendition of “Rubber Duckie.” Also appearing side-by-side are tracks from Palestine (“Traditional Game Song”) and Israel (”En Den Dino”), which shows how much the spirit of Sesame Street crosses all divides.
As a bonus to this collection is a DVD with five music videos. One of the standouts is “Ricas Frutas (Delicious Fruits),” as performed by Aleks Syntek for the Mexican representative of Sesame Street. Also worth a peek is the Russian entry, “The Song of the Caretakers,” featuring some zany maintenance workers with magical brooms.
A booklet with plenty of details on each song adds reading to this music and video experience that takes families to far-flung places for “sunny days” and “magic carpet rides” colored by diverse languages and customs.
