With a last name like Guthrie, expectations for exceptional folk music are certainly high, but Sarah Lee meets the challenge and makes her own mark on the children's folk music genre. Sarah Lee's voice sounds a little country with the way she throws it beautifully, and some of the songs have slight undertones of jazz due to being set in a minor key. Brush Your Teeth Blues #57 is not only in a minor key, but also features the melodica, which may be a new instrument and sound for your little one. Oni's Ponies is also in a minor key, and the only song with piano, an accordion, and voice distortion in it. Fox and Goose is a song written by Woody Guthrie, but never put to a melody. Sarah Lee sets the folksy story-song to her own slow, jazzy tune. Don't I Fit in my Daddy's Shoes is one of the more traditional folk sounding tracks on the CD, and the upbeat melody is carried by a mandolin and Pete Seeger on the banjo. The CD is clearly a family project, as you can hear Sarah Lee's husband singing back-up in multiple songs, including Take Me to Show-and-Tell, which the song notes explain Johnny inspired by suggesting that their daughter, Olivia, take him for show-and-tell one day. Sarah Lee and Johnny's daughters are heard singing back-up on the majority of songs, whenever they know the lyrics - usually the chorus.
The song Big Moon is easily the most quirky song on the album, with people and instruments making all sorts of silly noises; this one is guaranteed to make your little one smile, and probably contribute their own stilly noises. Many of the songs have the title repeated a few times as the chorus, so they are easy to learn and join in. Your child can sing the "hey hey"s and "ha ha"s in the title track, Go Waggaloo, or nearly yell the line, "'Cuz We're Cousins" along with the children on the album. Pete Seeger leads She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain with new fun sound effects added for each verse, including, "toot toot," "Woah back," "High Babe," and snoring. A Bright Clear Day describes fun things to do no matter what the weather (skip on a rainy day, hop on a windy day, or jump on a cloudy day) - can your child come up with something fun and active to do in today's weather? If Mama Had Four Hands will spur your child's interactive and thinking skills; can your little one think of things that their mama would do if she had four hands? The whistling featured in this song is also fun, and the upbeat melody encourages dancing. The cover notes say Sarah and her family had the hand motions and a dance for this song before they even had all the lyrics.
My two-year-old friend, Kyle, enjoyed a game we played while and after listening to the song Take Me to Show-and-Tell. Kyle asked me what show-and-tell was, so I explain it and asked him what he would bring. He was delighted by the question and took some time to really think about it. Finally, he responded, "brownies." Although I probably already knew the answer, I asked him why he picked brownies, and he responded, "So I could eat them - but I would share too."
--Audra