As I write this post the upper half of my body is bobbing along to “Going to the Moon,” ditty number eight on Rise and Shine by Key Wilde and Mr Clarke. I kid you not, I’m rockin’ and rollin’ in my office chair. Good thing it has armrests to keep me somewhat contained, because if I weren’t bobbing to track eight, I’d be movin’ and groovin’ to track three, “Favorite Names.” Seriously–this song is awesome!

Though not all songs on Rise and Shine were made for serious rockin’ and rollin’, they are all made for children with enough funk for adults to enjoy. The songs range in style from bluegrass to 80’s punk rock and were perfected as the duo of Key Wilde and Mr Clarke performed together at numerous schools and kid-friendly events. When you listen to the songs you can tell these two “get” kids.

The CD comes wonderfully packaged in a board book complete with illustrations just as offbeat as the songs. It was my kind of humor and I thoroughly enjoyed browsing through it while listening to the music. (Does that mean my sense if humor is that of an elementary-aged kid?)
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Rise and Shine is one of the newest releases from Little Monster Records, an indie kid’s music label based in Woodstock, NY. Last February I reviewed another release from Little Monster Records (Robbert Bobbert & The Bubble Machine) so it was no surprise how much I enjoyed Rise and Shine by Key Wilde and Mr Clarke. Definitely add it to your current collection of children’s CDs. Now. –Emily

* Promotion! Little Monster Records is offering Daily Dish readers a really awesome deal on Rise and Shine. Our readers can buy the book/CD combo for $9.98 and receive a free video download! You must click here or click below to purchase a copy of Rise and Shine for yourself your kids at this special price:

Get it Now!

*** Giveaway!!! Little Monster Records is giving away two (2) copies of Rise and Shine! Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway; please leave a comment for each one you do:

•   Listen to Rise and Shine in the widget above and leave a comment telling us your favorite track.
•   Become a fan of Little Monster Records on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you joined.
•   Follow Little Monster Records on Twitter and leave a comment telling is you’re their newest follower.
•   Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
•   Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: February 4, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

* Congratulations to Melanie M. and Wehaf U., the winners of the Rise and Shine giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

My husband absolutely loves books on CD (or MP3 or whatever format in which he can get them) and he makes lets us all listen to them whenever he can. Though I prefer alternative music to audio books, I humor him and the kids whenever we make a drive to my in-laws’ or his grandmother’s home, both a good half hour away.

But in a strange turn of events (due mainly to Maestro Classics sending me a CD to review for Boutique Cafe readers), Mom busted out a book on CD during our last drive up north. The Tortoise and the Hare is the latest release from Maestro Classics, a company that utilizes “wondrous new recordings, innovative educational and performance materials, and uplifting live performances … [to guide] audiences as they expand their listening horizons and discover the magic that can only be called music.”

My family can always use their horizons expanded so I popped in the CD and then passed around the accompanying booklet, which has activities and features illustrations by nationally recognized children’s book illustrator Renee Andriani. The Tortoise and the Hare takes the classic Aesop fable, sets it to an original score by Stephen Simon and then throws in the London Philharmonic Orchestra for good measure. Once we got the fade/balance thing right in the car so all parties could hear, the kids and the parents enjoyed the narration, especially with the added Mrs. Beaver character who runs the local bistro. As you know, I’m sold if it involves food.

If a book on CD can keep my children’s attention for more than five minutes, it’s a keeper…and The Tortoise and the Hare is a keeper! It even has a few bonus tracks filling in listeners about how the music is composed, more info about the original tale and even a Dixieland rendition of the “Pretzel Vendor of Paris,” which you’ll hear during the tale.

You can find The Tortoise and the Hare and the full collection of Maestro Classics on the website, including Peter and the Wolf (one of my favorites!), The Story of Swan Lake and Casey at the Bat.

*** Giveaway! Maestro Classics is giving away 3 The Tortoise and the Hare CDs! What a great stocking stuffer for the holidays! Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway. Remember to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

• Visit Maestro Classics online and leave a comment telling us which other CD you’d love to hear.
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
• Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winner from the comments and contact her via email. Deadline: December 8, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

* Congratulations to Christine, Shelley and Janelle, the winners of the Maestro Classics giveaway! Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the review and add a comment. Keep reading the Daily Dish for your chance to participate in more giveaways!

If you’ve been reading the Daily Dish column here on Boutique Cafe for a while then you know I’m a big fan of Putumayo Kids and their wonderful line of cultural CDs (Celtic, African, Brazilian to name a few). I am always on the lookout for a children’s CD that parents can listen to without wanting to invest in a good pair of earplugs. The newest CD from Hot Peas ‘N Butter is kid tested and mom approved (yes, just like the eve popular Kix cereal).

I knew nothing about Hot Peas ‘N Butter before receiving Hot Peas ‘N Butter Vol. 5 to review on the Daily Dish. I went to the site and found out this group was a “[winner} of the 2006 AND the 2008 ‘Parent’s Choice Awards’” and is “a unique children’s musical group that incorporates elements of traditional Latin music, Afro-Caribbean rhythms, jazz, folk, and rock.” Now THAT is my kind of children’s music!

As usual I tried to have all my kids listen to the CD but with our recent move, the CD got lost in a box somewhere until I finally unpacked it yesterday. I did have my oldest daughter listen to it, but all of a sudden these children’s CDs are, as she puts it, “for littler kids” so she didn’t have much to say about it. My littlest ones were in bed and didn’t get a chance to jam to the multicultural, distinctly Latin (love it!) music, but if I know my two-year-old, I know her tiny little bum would be shaking and groovin’ to every song on this CD.

I took a listen so I could tell you my favorite song but found pretty much everyone was a favorite song on the CD. I’m not much for the slower songs unless I’m singing my babies to sleep, and this CD was full of extremely danceable music, which I love, love, LOVE. If I had to pick a favorite or two or three I’d choose “‘Round the World” (a good geography refresher); “Rayos Diferente” (who knew a song about bike safety could be so much fun!); and “Campo” (dang, I love those drums in the background!). I’m listening to “Campo” now and it brings back memories of my recent trip to San Juan and our meal at tiny restaurant in Old San Juan. Good times…

I love that you can download the lyrics and translations online, which makes you appreciate the songs even more. I can’t believe this is the fifth CD from Hot Peas ‘N Butter–how did I miss the other four? I’d like to say I have a little Latin in me somewhere but alas, it’s all German, Irish and English. I’m as white as they come, but that doesn’t mean I enjoy the music on Hot Peas ‘N Butter Vol. 5 any less! Um, wait, isn’t this supposed to be a review of a children’s CD? How about I stop making this review about how much I enjoyed this CD and instead tell you how much your children are going to enjoy this CD–they are really, really going to enjoy this CD! –Emily

*** Giveaway!!! We’re giving away a Hot Peas ‘N Butter Vol. 5 CD to two Daily Dish winners! It may sound like a small prize but this CD really is a ton of fun–and will make a great stocking stuffer! Here’s how to enter. You can do as many of these as you’d like. Each one is worth one entry into our giveaway:

•    Visit HotPeasNButter.com, listen to a song or two and leave a comment telling us your favorite.
•    Join the Hot Peas ‘N Butter group on Facebook and leave a comment telling us you joined.
•    Tweet about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL of your tweet.
•    Blog about this giveaway and leave a comment with the URL to your blog post.

Include a valid email address for our drawing. We’ll draw the winners from the comments and contact them via email. Deadline: October 8, 2009 (midnight). The winner will have 24 hours to claim her prize or a new winner will be chosen.

Over the past couple years there’s been a definite shift in children’s music and I like the direction it’s heading. I was never one for 10 variations of “I’m a Little Teapot” or “The Wheels on the Bus.” Don’t get me wrong, these songs are classics, but if I have to listen to children’s music then it better make me want to get up and dance as well as it makes my kids want to do so.

I had never heard of Laura Freeman before I was sent her newest CD to review on the Daily Dish. Apparently she’s had quite the music career before Somersault Season, including a few songs for adults as well. But it’s her lighthearted-yet-educational songs that have caught the ears of children and adults alike. Here’s what Freeman had to say about Somersault Season:

I wrote these songs to keep busy active bodies moving all year long. I also wrote it to remind us to notice how the natural world is always changing around us. I love watching the seasons flow from one to the other. I hope I inspire others to do so.

As usual I had my girls pop the CD in their player to get their take on Somersault Season. Unfortunately their little brother didn’t get a chance to listen to it (I think they had up their “no boys allowed sign” or something while listening). So I only have an 11- and 9-year-old’s opinion on the music and for Laura Freeman’s Somersault Season, it wasn’t as rave a review as, say, Pop Fly or Robbert Bobbert & the Bubble Machine. And I think that was solely because, in my eldest daughter’s words, Somersault Season is “kind of a little kids’ CD. Livi and George will really like it!”

So apparently while the music on Somersault Season is fun and danceable, it’s best listened to by a younger crowd. I’m thinking everyone but pre-teens and teens–they’re too cool for the seasons anyway. I would love to tell you my favorite song but I didn’t get a chance to listen to it before we moved, then it got lost amidst the boxes, and I have yet to hook up speakers to my computer so I can’t even listen to it via iTunes. But I do know it has received rave reviews and I love anything that mixes a little education with a danceable tune. Plus, if Freeman’s music is half as fun to listen to as her “My Brother’s a Monster” video is to watch (without sound, mind you) then it’s definitely worth adding to your collection!