Korean Folk Songs: Stars in the Sky and Dreams in Our Hearts

PreS-Gr 3—Choi collects 14 favorite Korean folk songs; his brief introductions open a window on Korean life and culture. For each song, he includes a simple musical score for keyboard, and lyrics in both English and Korean (Hangul and transliterated). Most are traditional tunes celebrating life (including "Mountain Rabbit/Santokki," "Boat Song/Baetnorae," and "Arirang"—Korea's most popular folk song), while a few reflect their political origins ("Blue Birds/Saeya saeya" was inspired by the events leading up to the 1894 Donghak Peasant Revolt; "Thinking of Older Brother/Obba saenggak" and "Mother, Sister/Eommaya nunaya" were written during the Japanese occupation of Korea) and influences from the West ("Butterfly/Nabiya nabiya" melody is "Hänschen klein," "Three Bears Song" text is based on "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"). Beautiful watercolor illustrations by Korean artist Samee Back extend the content of each song, bringing in visual elements such as traditional clothing, boats, and homes. The accompanying CD alternates songs sung by Won with an instrumental/karaoke version.