Songs and Rhymes by Continent…
Welcome to Mama Lisa's World, kids songs and nursery rhymes from across the globe!
Here you'll find the lyrics to children's songs from around the world in English and the original languages. Many songs include MP3's, Midi Tunes and Scores. Enjoy!
New contributions of songs and recordings are always encouraged!
Advertisement
Here are some of Mama Lisa's recent posts about the music, culture and traditions of the world.
A while ago, I talked about how my daughter’s class made drawings illustrating the literal meanings of idiomatic expressions. This is a great way to help children, and people learning English as a second language, to understand these sayings.. One drawing my daughter did was an illustration of the expression "follow your nose". "Follow your nose"... Read more »
Once There Was a Boot is an original poem by 5th grader Lila Pomerantz. Lila also drew the picture below and recorded her poem… MP3 Recording of Once There Was a Boot Once There was a Boot By Lila Pomerantz Once there was a boot... Read more »
Your kids don’t want to groom themselves? Just read them this poem about Shock-headed Peter. It’s a cautionary story about what happens to children when they don’t keep themselves neat and clean… they can turn out like Shock-headed Peter! MP3 of Shock-headed Peter Shock-headed Peter by Heinrich Hoffman Just look at him! there he stands, With his nasty... Read more »
Here’s the poem "Windy Nights" by Robert Louis Stevenson with a recording and illustrations… MP3 Recording of Windy Nights Windy Nights By Robert Louis Stevenson Whenever the moon and stars are set, Whenever the wind is high, All night long in the dark and wet, A man... Read more »
There are different theories about where the American Red Velvet Cake is originally from, ranging from the South (perhaps the time of the Civil War?) to a creation of the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. No one seems to really know for sure! What’s certain is that this cake feels special, and in fact,... Read more »
Yesterday, I mentioned that I’ve been reading a series that takes place in Botswana called The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. In the 3rd book of the series, called Morality for Beautiful Girls, there’s mention of a traditional children’s song that kids in Botswana sing. It’s about cattle. In the past especially,... Read more »
I’m currently reading a series of books that takes place in Botswana called The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. When reading the first book, you quickly come upon the term "Mma" (pronounced "ma") used before a woman’s name and "Rra" (pronounced "ra" with a rolling "r") used before a man’s name. I... Read more »
Yuzu is a citrus fruit they enjoy in Japan especially near the Winter Solstice and the New Year. I’ve never seen the actual fruit here to try it. But today I found a Yuzu drink you can buy at the American chain store Trader Joe’s. You simply empty a packet into a cup, add hot... Read more »- Sarah wrote asking for help with a childhood song that her father used to sing to her. Here’s what she wrote… My father died [recently]… While rolling through memories of him & my childhood a song kept repeating. We were an Air Force family & had been stationed at Lajes Field AFB [in the Portuguese archipelago of... Read more »
Here’s a Chinese poem about early winter by Meng Haoran ???, a Chinese poet who lived from 689 or 691 to 740. First you’ll find the simplified Chinese text, followed by an English translation. Then you can listen to a recording of the poem in Mandarin and follow along with the Pinyin (pronunciation). After that... Read more »
Advertisement
