I loved the Arthur show on PBS. When my children were young enough to watch it, I even found myself humming the reggae sounding theme song. At first I thought it was sad that I was not only listening to, but thoroughly enjoying children’s music. I was relieved to see that it was performed by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.
When the Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD came out, we were thrilled. Not only did it have the catchy theme song, but lots of other fun songs based on the characters and some from the show. And there are more “real” musicians, including Art Garfunkel singing the “Ballad of Buster Baxter”.
Most of the songs have good messages for respecting others, being true to oneself, and discovering the world through reading. There are also lots of very silly songs. Some relate to childhood problems like practicing the piano, dreaming of the future, being afraid of the dark, getting too much homework, and hoping a younger sibling will stop crying. “Go to Sleep”, gets giggles every time as D.W. yells a lullaby at her baby sister. Fans of the show will recognize “Crazy Bus” which is one of those tunes that will stick in your head all day.
The musical styles on the CD vary quite a bit. Expect to hear everything from rap to rock to folk. I’m not a fan of rap, but I love the “Library Card” song that lists authors like Jules Verne, HG Wells, and Ray Bradbury, and books such as “The Giving Tree”, “Jumanji” and “Where the Wild Things Are”. The song says “Having fun isn’t hard when you’ve got a library card”.
It’s a fun CD with something to please everyone. You can listen to clips here, As for me, the Arthur theme song is still my favorite:
“Get together and make things better
By working together
It’s a simple message and it comes from the heart
Believe in yourself for that’s the place to start.”
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