Children of the World: CD Kit (Book & CD)

This collection arrives as a complete, ready-to-perform package that eliminates the typical scramble for arrangements, accompaniments, and contextual material. The two-part writing sits comfortably across mixed elementary voices while the integrated Fun Fact pages transform simple songs into a genuine cultural study, making this work as much in the music classroom as it does in concert. With a built-in 30-minute program arc and fully reproducible materials, you can move from songbook exploration directly into performance without additional preparation.

Traveling through nine countries and four continents in song, this collection captures the distinctive character of each culture's music while keeping the vocal writing accessible and joyful. The two-part arrangements create harmonic richness without technical complexity, allowing singers to focus on the melodic and cultural personality of each piece rather than wrestling with difficult ranges or unfamiliar intervals.

This is designed for elementary choirs, music classes, and general music teachers working with grades 3 and up who want to build cultural awareness alongside singing skills. It works equally well for teachers seeking a complete concert program or those integrating world music into their curriculum across the school year.

• Layer the Fun Fact narration between songs to create natural transitions; this transforms the performance from a song collection into a cohesive narrative that holds audience attention across the full 30 minutes.
• Record the accompaniment tracks and use them in rehearsals to establish accurate pitch and rhythmic feel, then have singers learn their parts independently before combining with the full ensemble.
• Encourage students to research and share one cultural detail about each song's origin; this deepens musical commitment and gives performers genuine ownership of the material rather than treating the songs as generic exercises.

Build a standalone multicultural concert using the 30-minute program structure, complete with narration and staging suggestions already embedded in the material. Alternatively, extract individual songs or small song clusters to integrate into spring concerts, cultural celebration events, or interdisciplinary units where music connects to social studies and geography curricula.

• Two-part singing in varied cultural styles and harmonic contexts
• Reading and performing music from non-Western tonal systems and rhythmic conventions
• Connecting melody and lyrics to cultural and geographical context
• Maintaining ensemble blend while navigating unfamiliar song titles and pronunciation
• Following recorded accompaniments with accuracy and responsiveness