Return to Pooh Corner – Kenny Loggins – CD Review

Return to Pooh Corner from Kenny Loggins was our lullaby CD of choice for several years when our twins were small. It’s a lovely and relaxing CD of lullabies accompanied by acoustic guitar, piano, penny whistles, harmonica and Celtic harp . Some of the songs are traditional. Other songs are borrowed from other contemporary musicians like John Lennon, Paul Williams, Paul Simon, Jimmy Webb, Rickie Lee Jones and more. All the songs capture the magic of childhood. We had a rough first year with our twins. This CD saw us through hospitalizations, surgeries, and average rough days with two infants. … Continue reading →

Playaway Digital Books

Our library has a new item called “Playaways”. These are pre-loaded digital audio books. The playaway device is a 2 ounce box. It’s smaller than an altoid tin so the device can be tucked into a pocket. It comes with an attached lanyard so the listener can wear the playaway device like a necklace. It uses a AAA battery. You will also need a pair of earphones. All in all, I like my Ipod Nano better. Our library also offers e-books for downloading. But the playaways are a nice alterative. The ability to “bookmark” passages is a definite plus. You … Continue reading →

Shel Silverstein’s Underwater Land – CD Review

Brush off those imaginations and have a listen to Shel Silverstein’s Underwater Land. Think about a land where the stars are starfish, and the skies are green, where you never have to wash your face and hands. This delightful recording won the 2003 Parent’s Choice Foundation Gold Award. Pat Dailey, legendary Key West singer, and recorder of thirteen albums brings life to Silverstein’s words. And Silverstein jumps in, too. Pat Dailey has a marvelous warm voice. Their fun comes through the recording. I just know they had a great time producing it. All the songs are based on the ocean, … Continue reading →

Arthur and Friends: The First Almost Real Not Live CD

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 … Continue reading →

The Adventures of Gus & Phil

No matter how well your children read, there is nothing like hearing a story read aloud. They can close their eyes and call upon their imagination to paint the vivid pictures that the stories convey. Listening to stories promotes creativity, improves vocabulary, and promotes relaxation allowing a child to wind down in the evening in preparation for sleep. Pair the valuable act of listening to stories with the values in the Adventures of Gus & Phil, and you have a winning combination. According to the author Ivan Benson, these stories were originally created “as a medium to talk about events … Continue reading →

Clay Aiken – Measure of a Man

I may have given you the impression that I’m a Clay Aiken fan. Well, I am! He came out of nowhere to come in second in the American Idol competition, and has outsold Rueben Studdard who did take home the title. With “Measure of a Man,” we have Clay’s debut album. When Clay was getting ready to release this album, producer Clive Davis wanted to title it simply “Clay Aiken.” But Clay wanted the title to convey more of a meaning and a message, rather than just an artist’s name, and he pushed for the album to be called “Measure … Continue reading →

Books on Tape and CD

With the advent of books on tape, more commuters than ever are enjoying good literature. It’s very easy to throw a tape or CD into a player and listen along while driving. For many commuters who have a long distance to go, this is the only way they can read. Books on tape also enrich the lives of the blind, and of those who cannot yet read. You can find a broad selection of audio books at nearly every bookstore now, and they are also offered by Amazon.com. Just out of curiosity, I just did a search on Amazon, and … Continue reading →

Taylor Hicks – The Single and the First Album

With the finale of this year’s American Idol competition counting down just a couple of weeks away, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the music of Taylor Hicks, last year’s Idol. Taylor’s first release was a single, with “Do I Make You Proud?” on one side and “Takin’ It to the Streets” on the other. You’ll recall that “Do I Make You Proud?” is the song chosen for both Taylor and first runner-up Katherine McPhee to sing, and the winner would record it. (And he did!) I didn’t find it to be at all his … Continue reading →

Justin Roberts “Meltdown!” CD Review

Every once in a while you cross paths with a CD that simply brightens your day and plants a big, honest smile across your face. And every once in a while you will come across a collection of kid’s songs that has an odd little habit of always finding it’s way into your car CD player during the drive to pick up your child and then remains spinning once your little lady or gentleman has been collected. Most recently, that collection of music is the thirteen songs making up Justin Roberts’ fifth full-length record entitled “Meltdown!” Justin started releasing music … Continue reading →

Dr. Seuss Books on iTunes

Here is a post that shows how much time my family spends on the road! We drive around a lot, be it on vacations to Maine or New York or when we make our bi-weekly trips to my parents’ house. My mom watches our daughter every other Friday, which has my trio making the 1 hr journey east on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, usually in rush hour traffic. To pass the time in a peaceful manner, we now have the ability to slip in a CD mix featuring some of our daughter’s all time favorite stories. This will often make her … Continue reading →