Children’s musicians Erin Lee and Marci bring us the next of their regular posts with thematic recommendations for kid-friendly music, plus activities to make the songs an interactive experience for the whole family. I’m posting this a wee bit early this month because I’m on vacation; you can usually find Erin Lee and Marci here at their regular time, the first Monday of each month, or visit their homepage, www.gottaplay.org. (Catch them on the R Family cruise this summer, too!)
I’ve created links to Amazon for the full albums (click the album image or name), plus links to Amazon MP3 downloads for those who want only the singles. (Click the song name.)
One of our favorite things is a song that tells a story. Often we write our songs because someone has told us a really good tale. That was the case with Elm Avenue Waltz, when our friend Phil told us about a cranky neighbor that all the kids in his neighborhood used to whisper about. Once, a kid lost a football in her yard — and when he went to retrieve it, he found that she had sliced the ball open with a big kitchen knife! After that, everyone was afraid to go in her yard, and if someone accidentally threw a ball there, it was considered lost. Well, as soon as we heard his story we had to write a song.
So, this month’s music recommendations feature a certain type of song rather than a topic. We don’t know what prompted Steve Weeks or Monty Harper to write their story songs — we hope that Steve wasn’t plagues by monkeys, and we certainly hope that Monty wasn’t kidnapped by aliens. But we do hope that you enjoy listening to these stories!
“Monkeys
Steve Weeks has recorded 26 songs over the course of three CDs — one song for each letter of the alphabet. Our very favorite is his letter M song, a story song about the madcap misadventures that occur when the narrator makes the miserable mistake of setting a mass of monkeys loose in his house. You and your school-aged child will double your vocabulary in a week listening to Steve’s hilarious story songs!
“Take Me to Your Library
We sit on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Music Network with a very gifted songwriter named Monty Harper from Oklahoma. Monty’s songs are full of wacky characters including pirates, vampires, trolls, and in this case, a library-loving alien with a spaceship that resembles a gigantic hamburger. Yikes! See if you can sing along with the chorus in alien tongue! Monty has a 7 year-old daughter who helps shape his very sound approach to music for kids who have outgrown the standard preschool repertoire. We’re not sure whether alien is a second language at their house or not.
Our Song of the Month:
“Elm Avenue Waltz
Our narrator hits a baseball into the infamously cranky neighbor’s yard, breaking her window and presenting a life lesson in responsibility. Elm Avenue Waltz isn’t really a story about ballgames, or even cranky neighbors – it’s really about courage. So talk, or write, or draw a picture about something you’ve done that required courage!