The songs all have catchy tunes so don't be surprised when, days later, you find yourself singing, "You'll sing a song, and I'll sing a song. We'll sing a song to-geeeee-ther" - and still enjoying it! Little listeners will learn the words quickly with help of rhyming, repetition, and revisiting; Jenkins revisits three songs two times on the CD. By the second time around, your child knows what to expect. Made-up sound effect words, like "HI-yo! Hi-yo!" and "Rump bump bump" add to the fun. Your child is also exposed to some foreign words in the "Maori Indian Battle Chant", "Cadima", and "I saw." Many of the songs also tell a story. "I Saw" refers to real places and people in Paris, on a farm, and in the U.S., which you child will recognize. The beat is always steady and easy to keep; the music will inevitably get your child singing along and remain entertained, but they will not be bouncing off the walls.
Jenkins involves listeners in a variety of ways. Sometimes, she directly asks them to repeat phrases or verses after her, and then there will be either silence or just the guitar while she actually waits for your child to sing their part. It may take a few listens for your little one completely learns the verse, but once they do, they'll feel like they are part of the CD! Other times, Jenkins will sing quieter, so she is the background while your little one is the star singer. A majority of the songs will have Jenkins singing the first verse, and then the Urban Chorus (and listeners) either repeats that same verse, or sings the next one after Jenkins has taught it to them. Jenkins will sometimes stop the songs multiple times in the first run-through to explain what is coming and or what she wants the listeners to sing or listen for. Sometimes, she just shouts out a prompting word right before the verse. In "Did You Feed My Cow?" listeners even get to answer a series of questions.
My two-year-old friend Kyle loves to listen to this CD in the late afternoon, right after nap time. He knows how to push the 'play' button and will usually start the CD on his own. One afternoon, he was sitting in his play area listening while he made his blocks dance to the beat, I asked him who the lady in the music is talking to; Kyle beamed and jabbed his thumb into his chest saying, "Me!" "That right!" I told him, "Because you're such a good singer!"
--Audra