Sesame Workshop and Putumayo Kids Celebrate International Music

Sesame Street Playground

Sesame Workshop has joined forces with world music record label Putumayo Kids on a new CD/DVD set featuring songs and music videos from Sesame Street productions around the world. Sesame Street Playground contains 13 songs and five Muppet music videos from a range of countries, including Brazil, China, Israel, Mexico, and South Africa.

The two-disc package includes some old favorites and introduces children to some less familiar songs. Listeners can hear Russian street cleaners sing The Song of the Caretakers, learn a French song about friendship, and listen to a tune from Shara’a Simsim, the Palestinian version of Sesame Street.

The videos feature favorite Sesame Street Muppets Elmo, Big Bird, and Snuffleupagus, and also familiarize viewers with popular characters from the international Sesame Street family.

Besides spreading a positive message about global citizenship, Sesame Street Playground also contains important lessons about taking care of yourself and others. In Ricas Frutas, Mexican characters Abelardo, Pancho, and Lola sing about the benefits of healthy eating. In the South African Pollution Song, the Muppets from Takalani Sesame sing about keeping their community clean. “Take the papers and throw them in the dustbin/so that we can live in a beautiful country,” Zikwe and his friends sing.

Sesame Workshop President and CEO Gary Knell notes that music is highly effective in introducing children to other cultures.

“While musical style is unique to different regions of the world, music itself is something we all have in common,” Knell says.

Sesame Street Playground  is available in our store.