So when we were asked to review a new children's music cd called Pop Fly by Justin Roberts, I thought it might be fun.
Before agreeing to anything, I pulled up the website and had Ro and Ree check it out. Oh yeah, they were intrigued. Actually, I thought they were going to climb into that computer. They were particularly impressed by Justin's video called Airplane of Food. Oh man, I think we had to watch that one fifty times. I wish I was exaggerating. Heh. Anyhow, so we said yes we'd review the cd, and they sent us a free sample.
What it is: Justin Roberts is a children’s singer and songwriter who writes funny songs about stuff all kids can relate to. The tunes are catchy and upbeat (but not grating like most kid fare), the lyrics are fun, and there's a big variety. I think he has something like eight cds out now.
What Ro and Ree thought: The girls giggle and wiggle like mad when I put on Justin's Pop Fly cd. They jump and shake and dance wildly and request different songs. You think I'm kidding? Here's a quick sample of the frenetic activity, which, incidentally, makes me feel very, very old and tired:
Yeah, they give Justin four thumbs up. We'll be attending a fundraising concert he's giving and the girls are super excited. If anyone's in town, Ro and Ree would love to dance with your kiddos at the concert (and I apologize in advance to anyone sitting nearby). Here are the details:
- When: Sunday, November 15th at 11am and 2pm (we'll be at the 11am one)
- Where: The Foothill College Smithwick Theater (12345 El Monte Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022)
- Tickets: $13 in advance or $15 at the door, tickets can be purchased at www.mvpns.org/events.html
Areas for Improvement: Ok, I just had one thing, and I hate to admit this one. Um, my eyesight has gone steadily downhill since I hit 40. And the print on the cd jacket is so dang small and twisty that I don't have a prayer of deciphering it without my reading glasses. Justin, please take pity on the parents of your target audience and design the next cd jacket with them in mind, K?
The Giveaway: One lucky salsa reader will win the new Justin Roberts cd Pop Fly. To enter, just leave a comment here telling me the name of a favorite children's cd or artist (I'm always looking for new stuff that the girls like and I don't hate, and would SO appreciate the help). One entry/comment per household, residents of the U.S. only, entries accepted until 8am on Friday 10/23/09. The winner will be drawn at random, announced on this blog, and also notified by email (if I have a way to contact you) that same day. The winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
*** Fri 8am: Hi guys, thanks for entering! The giveaway is now closed and I'll draw the winner and announce him/her today.
Cheers! M3
62 comments:
I'm ashamed to admit 3 year old A enjoys all things Hannah Montana. I can't stand it, but it is what it is. LOL
I really enjoy kindermusic. I like that a lot of the songs are classic some are new and they have good melodies. I also like that they have varieties of music so our kids are exposed to different types of music that area all very kid friendly. My favorite is the sing a long cd, but the kids of the wheels cd. The rub a dub one is really good too. Most of the cds also come with a few extras like a book or stuffed animal too.
In the car we will realize that the kids have fallen asleep and me and my best friend are still singing along to the tunes... it is horrible!
My son enjoys these cds, but his heart does belong to the wiggles but I can't listen to them as long as kindermusic.
If you already have kindermusic cds, this was probably a really boring comment for you to read, but if you don't have it then you might want to check it out. They also offer classes.
Lurker here, coming out of the woodwork for this CD! :-) We have an earlier Justin Roberts CD (Meltdown) and love it.
We're also big Barenaked Ladies fans here, both their children's CD (Snacktime) and a random track from a compilation CD, "La La Lemon" (from Sesame Street).
We also enjoy the CDs we've gotten from our Music Together classes.
My daughter loves all things music! We went to a festival a couple weeks ago and they were playing this catchy little tune called Tony Chestnut (toe knee chest nut) and my daughter loves loves loves it now. We watch it on YOUTUBE so she can do the moves with the words!
My 3 year old daughter loves The Laurie Berkner Band cd,Rocketship Run.
Her favorite track is number 18, Fast and Slow (The Rabbit and the Turtle). I can not keep up with her request to be fast. So, I pick to be the turtle. :-)
As a kindergarten teacher I have TONS of Dr. Jean CDs. The songs are educational and sooo soooo fun!! I also have a Motown Music for Kids CD at school. I'll have to check on the info for you. It has kids singing though and is super cute!
we love laurie berkner and old, old, music videos called kid songs.
My favorite thus far is "They Might Be Giants Here Come the ABCs":
http://www.amazon.com/Here-Come-ABCs-DVD-Combo/dp/B000BEZPSC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1256044675&sr=1-1
Funky, humorous, educational, and the lyrics stick in your head forever (not sure if that last part is a good thing or not).
K likes Laurie Berkner and my middle DD loves Hannah Montana. My older girls enjoyed Raffi when they were younger, but we haven't had a chance to try him out on K yet. I'd love a chance to see if she likes Justin Roberts.
My grandchildren's favorite singer is me! Sorry I haven't made a CD but I sure enjoy singing to them.I think it has to do with my genes! They might enjoy a break from me if they win the CD.Marlayna
We like Sandra Boynton music. Philedelphia Chickens is a real hit at our house.
-linda
ok, now my son has to watch the video of the girls dancing and hear the moo-sic over and over
SteveSongs! He is also Mr. Steve on PBS Kids...very good music!
Love the BareNaked Ladies SnackTime CD, really cute to listen to
Carmen
chalbheer@hotmail.com
Maggie loves Elizabeth Mitchell's "You are my Little Bird." It's kind of catchy and I enjoy it as well.
Our favorite is "little friends"
from china sprout. My daughter has been listening to it since she came home at 1 is is noew 3 1/2. She knows most of the songs.
Victoria
My daughter loves to sing to her CDs. One of her favorites at the moment is called "What do ya think of that?" I can't remember the artist.
joannadumas@hotmail.com
I almost hate to admit this..as it dates me. Kenny Loggins Return to Pooh Corner. That CD (was a tape when I got my first copy) has stood the test of time - from my 22 year old niece to my 9 month old daughter. I have to admit I listen to it when I'm by myself.
Lisa
not reaaaaalllly kids music, but my lil' one loves the B-52's. put "rock lobster" on for your kids and watch them ROCK OUT. trust me.
My kiddo loves the They Might Be Giants "Here Comes the ABCs" and "Here Comes the 123s" cd/dvd. She has all the songs memorized. Incidentally, they just came out with a new cd/dvd titled "Here Comes Science" that we're getting soon. The songs are catchy but not annoying, the lyrics are smart but funny and the animation/graphics on the dvd are simply hip and cool. If I am chosen you can reach me at cgwms2000 [at] yahoo [dot] com.
thanks.
My 4 year old loves P*ker Face by Lady G*aGa... Looooong story behind this, and not one of my proudest parenting moments, but since he doesn't understand English, I figured no harm done :)
He also loves B.ear in the Big Blue House and the Backyardigan CDs. Interesting mix of music, huh?
Laurie Berkner all the way in our house .. we've been listening for most of our three years together (this Saturday .. yay!!). But...more recently, she's become fond of a few "rock n roll" songs like Queen's "We Will Rock You" -- there is something slightly wrong but uber-cute in hearing your 4 year old talk about "kicking your can all over the place!" Heh!
We love the Go Fish Guys! Their albums, "Super Star" and "Snazzy" are original music.Their latest, "Party Like a Preschooler" is a fun take on favorites like "wheels on the bus". Check it out!
We are also from the bay area, my daughters favorite right now is local kids musician Andy Z.
Thanks for the review, I saw an ad for his album and have been wanting to check it out!
Okay, so it's not a kids' CD, but my 3 year old son LOVES LOVES LOVES The Beatles "1" Greatest Hits album. He can (and DOES) listen to Yellow Submarine on repeat about 20 times a day. We also like Jack Johnson's Curious George soundtrack.
My apologies to Laurie Berkner, but we had to take her out of rotation when I started hearing her sounds in my head as I drifted off to sleep...
Oh, we have music going CONSTANTLY at our house. Let's see... Yes, the Barenaked Ladies' _Snacktime_, and any / all Laurie Berkner CD's. We love the Putamayo Kids albums -- special favorites are the Animals one and the Folk Music one and the Sing Along with Putamayo Kids, although the "African Playground" one is by far the best one in our house (it can wipe away the grumps with two bars of music). We also like _Little Bird_ by Elizabeth Mitchell and _Family Time_ by Ziggy Marley (reggae is really speaking to my daughter right now...).
Just FYI, this was part of NPR's year's best music for kids, and there are several other CD's there that have looked interesting (my husband insists that I can only have as many CD's for the baby as months she has been on the earth, so I'm in a holding pattern until next month...). You can search for it on www.npr.org/music
In this house we love Mr Al. He is hysterical and does the best concerts, the parents don't get bored either. The tall funny guy with the bad hair but I can't think of his name is great too (Zanes?). We like Justin Roberts too.
No need to enter me in the giveaway. I don't have kiddos, so no need for kiddo music :)
But I know SteveSongs is awesome! Many of my little cousins and kids that I babysit can attest to that :)
one of our favorite kid cd's is Joe Scruggs' Late Last Night
http://www.hellojoe.com/lln.php
He has many more that are great too, but that one was our favorite.
http://www.hellojoe.com/music.php
April is a fan and big lover of the Wiggles.
Ilene
ilenesg@earthlink.net
My four year old loves Raffi. I'd like to introduce her to Justin, though! Thanks!
Enya for sleep.
Anything country - I really had to watch it to make sure they are not imitating words they are not supposed to be saying (bad mama).
They love to sing to the discs they got at VBS.
Hannah Montana is also a big hit!
We love "Snacktime" by the Barenaked Ladies. Clever songs that the parents can appreciate.
We love Trout Fishing in America. The CD we have is Family Music Party. Pico de Gallo is one of our favorite tracks. When Martina was a toddler, I used to say that her theme song was "Carry Me."
Martina's personal favorite track is probably "Baby's Got the Car Keys."
Loe following your girls lives an hope we have the same luck and get twins as you did. My daughter said their babies ahould be here sometime in the summer time. Sure woud like t win the CD for the them Betty K
We have a random mix that we listen to daily, but her two most favorite songs at the moment are "The Friendly Pirate Ship" by the Wiggles, and "The Bob Song" which is off of a Sandra Boynton CD, and based on her book, "Fifteen Animals".
Would love to try some Justin Roberts.
This is a Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus house here... 'sigh'
I've got weird kids, lol! We do listen to Disney songs, but for the most part my kids really enoy bellydancing music! And right now the favorite seems to be "Ringa Ringa" from the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack....
Cool - I love hearing about children's artists I didn't know about. Our faves in the house are Laurie Berkner, Ralph Covert, and Dan Zanes. I've been guilty of listening sans kids, even.
By the way, not sure if you remember The Bad Examples, but that's where Ralph Covert comes from.
We love They Might Be Giants - Here Come the 123s! Especially - Seven - or "The Cake One" as we call it!
I think my Sophie would love this, too! Currently she's ALL about Elmo and the Elmo Singalong CD is driving me bonkers. I swear I hear, "La La La La La La Elmo's World" in my sleep. Other than that, she seems to love ALL kinds of music. She was dancing to the Beyonce video before that baby on YouTube made the circuit. haha She loves anything with a good beat! Thanks for the chance to win something cool! I need a break from Elmo!!!! :) Melissa @missmissypie068@yahoo.com
They play a lot of great kids music on Nick Jr also known as Noggin and/or preschool for children on tv. One of our favorites ifs the Laurie Berkner Band Funny enough, I'll find myself singing 'B-O-O-T-S, boots...in my red boots...." LOL!!!!
Our girl loves all kinds of music as well. Our newest favorite (well for the last few months)is Ziggy Marley's Family Time. If you like Regae music you will love this CD!
Kanah asks for the Family song all the time!
I love it as well!
we love Roger Day! Our favorite song of his is Mosquito Burrito.
Jennifer, Lily and Kate
BTW, the rock tumbler is great, but it takes like a month to make a rock pretty. so we just "check on the rocks" daily to make the wait time less. Every 3-7 days you have to actually do something to the rocks. They still love it, but it explains why the age limit on the box says 8+...only 8+ has the patience to wait!
We're big into music in our house. We enjoy They Might Be Giants, Billy Jonas, Audra Rox along with Beatles, Motown and Jazz for Kids.
We lived in Belgium for a couple of months and my daughter is now a huge fan of K3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYFCcRE25XI
I'd love to be part of the giveaway!
My Emma loves Ralph's World. When she was about 2 1/2 we went to his concert and she loved it. It was in a small theatre. Talk about dancing. She loves "Puppy Dog" the best.
Laura
We love music here, and have quite a few favorites.One of the most recent favorites we have is Ralph's World Happy Lemons. It has some nice upbeat songs and Abbey loves listening to it. The Justin Roberts cd sounds great and we would love to win it!!
Monica
kevinandmonica@netzero.com
I love the CD Gotcha Day by Ann Pence. It is folk music all related to Chinese adoption. The song Gotcha Day is one of my favorites because it mentions Chongqing, which is were my daughter is from.
Jodi
Durx3js@hotmail.com
I'm sad to say we aren't really a kid-music-listening-type household. But we do enjoy the Schoolhouse Rock cds when we are on long roadtrips. Love that Multiplication Rock! I will be searching for some of these suggestions at the library. Thanks!
-Heather
Sadly, my 2 1/2 year old seem enthralled with Taylor Swift.
Would love to introduce her to a new CD - thanks for offering a great giveaway!
csaestok@yahoo.com
We like the Green Chili Jam Band's Coconut Moon CD. Mellow, but fun!
Please, pick me. If I have to listen to Alvin and the Chipmunks or the Backyardigans one more time in the car, I cannot be held responsible for what I might do!!!!
I'll second (or third) They Might Be Giants - Here come the ABCs. I put a couple of the songs on my running Ipod!
I'll have to check out barenaked ladies - snacktime. I used to listen to them all the time.
I can't stand most kid music CDs, even though I like kid songs.
This is the CD I listened to when I was little:
http://www.last.fm/music/Barry+Louis+Polisar/My+Brother+Thinks+He's+a+Banana+and+other+Provocative+Songs+for+Children
I still remember all the words to My Brother Threw Up on My Stuffed Toy Bunny. If you ever saw Juno, the song during the intro is from this CD. Enjoy.
Kylie and Caleb LOVE the Cedarmont Kids Praise Songs CD's and I like them too because while they are kid voices singing, they are pleasantly on key...
And while I love that my kids like to sing Here I am to Worship and Step by Step, sometimes a mommy has got to have a little variety!
You should check out Big Smith. They are a bluegrass band from Missouri that put out a kids' CD. One CD is play songs and the other is lullabies. The play songs are pretty silly, but cute.
Wow....to have 1/10th of their amazing energy! fun CD!
I'm a Veggie Tales fan myself.
We highly recommend Billy Jonas - also very funny lyrics, like "There's an alien in my lungs" (song about being sick):
I woke up this morning I was stuck to my bed
Because of the mucus dripping out of my head
My little brother said, "That's a really cool trick!"
I said, "No it's not, it means I'm sick!"
My girl loves loves music so that would be a great stocking stuffer!
We listen to Wee Sing bible songs in the car, but would LOVE a different CD to listen to! Thanks!
TaraN4ms@comcast.net
I like the Wiggles CD - it's fun singing with an Australian accent!
Hi guys, thanks for entering! The giveaway is now closed and I'll draw the winner and announce him/her today.
Cheers!
M3
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