Children's Audio/Video

-- Publishers Weekly, 9/18/2006

Spoken Word

This lush tale of magical realism is rendered all the more charming by the lively and, at times, mesmerizing Yorkshire accent conjured by theater-trained narrator Morton. Even his breathing seems tinged with a cockney sound. Morton easily animates 14-year-old Graham Sinclair—a provincial kid with deformed hands and a secret, struggling to make sense of an increasingly hectic modern world. After saving a baby from a plane crash in London, Graham finds his life populated by various characters, some of them less than savory. Morton does an admirable job of impersonating them through Graham's offbeat perspective, though American ears may detect little difference between certain accents. Richardson's prose is soaring and Technicolor, peppered with youth slang, Briticisms and outlandish metaphor. But Morton doesn't let himself get carried away with the oft-wondrous language. Instead, he delivers a singular voice that's both grounded and free-floating, and may well resonate long after the tale has ended. Ages 13-up. (Aug.)

The accent in Simhan's sinuous, supple voice is difficult to place. Burnished with the dulcet tones of the Queen's English, Simhan also bears a faint trace of foreignness, of mysterious otherness. Her clipped, elegant reading of Fletcher's fantasy tale set in ancient Persia is enhanced by this undertone of other climes. A pair of siblings, royal by birth but impoverished, discover they have the gift of reading the dreams of others, and seek to return to their rightful place with this gift's help. Simhan's performance is invested with careful diction and an occasional touch of theatrical emoting. She does a solid job of keeping this lengthy audiobook flowing, thanks to a colorful palette of voices, inflections and meaningful pauses. While there are moments that drag, Simhan keeps them to a minimum. She gets into the spirit of this Arabian Nights-esque fantasy with aplomb. Ages 12-up. (Aug.)

Listeners looking for a revved-up storytelling session will find one here, as de las Casas infuses a selection of favorite folktales with "rhythm, rhyme and rap." From a rapping troll on "Rockin' Billy Goats Gruff" to the jazzy motifs in "The Three Little Pigs" (starring Evan, Devon and Kevin Bacon, "Ma's little Bacon bits"), the jokes are all part of the fractured fairytale fun. The copious sound effects and musical snippets largely succeed even though de las Casas's solo vocal performances are sometimes tonally flat. Despite this small shortcoming, audiences will surely be enthused by these entertaining retellings, which exploit de las Casas's pleasant style and incorporate many crowd-pleasing elements. Ages 5-up. (July)

No passport required for a globe-spanning musical trip with this vibrant Arkansas duo (taking its name from "Two Can Jam"). Variety reigns as Kelly Mulhollan and Donna Stjerna share original songs that feature an array of interesting sounding instruments (didgeridoo, ukulele, gourd mbira, pump organ, Middle Eastern oud, etc.) and story-song combinations such as the British-inspired "Snowy Fall's Cat" and an Ethiopian tale called "Abagas," which inspire audience participation (meows, screams, etc.). In between the world music selections, Toucan's folk/bluegrass style encompasses soft harmonies and Donna's accomplished fiddle playing. Throughout, the upbeat tracks offer an overarching message of tolerance and peace. Ages 5-12. (Aug.)

Classical music meets storytelling in the latest multi-layered entry in this educational series of recordings for kids. Paul Dukas's famous composition (only 12 minutes long) takes on a new life with conductor Simon, the talents of the London Philharmonic and a narration of the story of a wizard and his lazy assistant that will be familiar to fans of Disney's Fantasia. (In the music itself, older listeners may also hear some musical motifs suggestive of those in the John Williams soundtracks to the Harry Potter movies.) After the main performance (the orchestra and a dramatic, over-the-top reading by Yadu), the meat of the lesson begins with co-producer Bonnie Simon's "About the Story" segment. Stephen Simon follows with a breakdown of the musical composition—à la "Peter and the Wolves"—in the "About the Music" section. Finally, listeners are invited to join in with their own pots-and-pans/household items performance on "March of the Brooms Play Along." Ages 6-12. (Aug.)

Cincinnati children's librarian Caithamer jams out in rockabilly style with his guitar and deep, friendly singing voice on this collection of 10 original songs. As befits his day job, Caithamer introduces the general classification of the Dewey decimal system in the bouncy "Dewey." The opening track, "Big Bad Wolf" takes advantage of the vocalist's ability to reach the low notes, and "Pancakes All Around" is a celebration of family togetherness on a Sunday morning—with a steady beat, of course. Strong musicianship throughout (harmonica, drums) adds color and depth here. Ages 6-10. (July)

Stay-at-home-dad/"music-industry guy" Hurwitz saw firsthand how his sons gravitated to his jazz record collection and decided that kids deserved their own top-notch collection. The result of his efforts is a compilation album featuring the talents of such noted jazz performers as Sharon Jones, Babi Floyd, John Medeski and Steven Bernstein. The crew funks up "The Wheels on the Bus," "Old MacDonald," "ABC" and "If You're Happy and You Know It" with distinctly jazzy elements and occasionally some new lyrics ("If you're happy and you know it, blow the sax"; "Old MacDonald had a band..."). Kids introduce each track here, and despite all the child-friendly aspects, this fine recording is worthy of a listen by any jazz aficionado. Jones's powerful, versatile vocals and the excellent accompaniment on piano, bass, trumpet and saxophone are a treat. Looking ahead, the series will continue with Baby Loves Disco (fall 2006), Baby Loves Reggae and others. Taking the jazz introduction still further, Price, Stern Sloan is simultaneously releasing a series of four carry-along board book–and-CD titles in a Baby Loves Jazz tie-in series. Each book features a "band member" (Miles Crocodile, Duck Ellington, etc.) presenting concepts such as colors or numbers, incorporating jazz, and is packaged with a CD recording of original jazz tunes (not included on the Go Baby Go CD). Short animations of these book/band characters will also air on the Cartoon Network this fall. All ages. (Aug.)

Got an appetite for silly food songs? Then Yosi's latest should be a top choice from the musical menu. Spanning the healing power of "Chicken Noodle Soup" to the breezy sounding, calypso-flavored "Chilly Chili," young listeners get a taste of various foods and musical styles. Never forgetting his core audience, Yosi includes kid choruses on several tracks and seems to relish the tongue twister "Pass the Purple Pesto Pasta Please," the alien theme of "Schlurpknof" and the broad Wildlife Café menu on "Spaghetti Worms and Meatballs." Yosi's warm, inviting vocals and guitar and harmonica playing receive rousing support from a quality band of musicians lending piano, ukulele, saxophone, accordion, banjo and a host of other sounds to the mix. All ages. (Aug.)