1, 2, 3 - Sing With Me!

1, 2, 3 - Sing With Me!

by Mary Lee Sunseri

Winner of the Parent's Place Favorite Songs, this recording offers 37 classic children's songs for your little one to laugh, sing, and play along with. The songs come across very authentic and unassuming through Mary Lee's beautiful voice. Her instruments include a guitar, recorder, and tambourine. This music is perfect for play time, whether at home, day care, or the car. If your little one can sing and clap their hands, they will have loads of fun!

Mary Lee's voice is absolutely endearing and welcoming, and you can hear her having fun with each song and even lightly laughing while singing on some tracks. She sings softy when singing about the Itsy Bitsy Spider, then asserts herself louder when singing about the 'big strong spider' climbing the water spout. Using a similar tactic, she slows down the tempo for a yellow light in I Have a Little Bicycle, and stops the song for the red light. She also slows the tempo down in the final verse of the a capella song Hurry Hurry in order to match the words, "Slowly slowly, drive to the station now that fire is out." Boogy Woogy Piggy is sung with sass, and Mary Lee actually 'rrrrrroar's with the veggie-eating dinosaurs in Five Dinosaurs! Row Your Boat and You Are Special are both sung in rounds, while You Are Special can easily be adapted to include your little one's name. Oh Mr. Sun is the only song with backup singers, who really bring it to life. Mary Lee's voice is usually accented by her clever guitar playing and occasional use of the tambourine and recorder.

This collection of classic children's songs lends itself to interaction and stimulation. You can teach your little one to mime the motions in Brush Your Teeth, create new ways to show that 'you're happy and you know it', find your head, shoulders, knees and toes in English and Spanish in Head & Shoulders, sing about all the colors of the rainbow in Red and Yellow, or add in the animal sounds in Barnyard Son; "I'm a cow, you're a cow, we are cows all, and if you don't believe us, we'll give our cow a call." Listeners also get to be a cat, donkey, duck, and sheep. Your child may marvel at the new sounds of a foreign language and soothing beat in the Bengali Infant Massage Chant. Your child may ask what they are saying, but you can help them expand their thinking by responding with, "When you don't understand the words, ask yourself what the music makes you feel." This helps your little one make sensory connections, associating music with emotions. One emotion sure to be engaged in the CD at some point is humor; for instance, In I'm Bringing Home a Baby Bumblebee a child goes from being excited to bring home a bee, to getting stung and deciding to squish it instead!

My two-year-old friend, Kyle, enjoyed singing and humming along to most of this CD, since he already knew almost all of the songs. Kyle's favorite song was If All the Raindrops... because he likes to sing the "ah ah ah" part at the top of his lungs with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out as far as it goes, and mouth wide open; "If all the sunbeams were jelly beans and ice cream, oh what a sun that would be, I'd stand outside with my mouth open wide, ah ah ah ah ah." He always tries to get me to do this with him, but the one time I gave in, his mom came in the room and almost fell over laughing. I have not been able to live it down since. I will have to let Kyle lead all mouth-agape sounds from now on.

--Audra

Mary Lee Sunseri is the winner of two American Library Notable Children's Recordings and four Parents Choice Awards. She has produced and performed 16 CD's of traditional and original music. Mary Lee has performed with the legendary Burl Ives, opened for Bill Cosby and Lily Tomlin, recorded the title song to Walt Disney's movie The Apple Dumpling Gang, recorded nursery rhymes for Mattel Toys' See 'N Say, toured as a member of "Randy Sparks & The Back Porch Majority,"and appeared in the MGM Elvis Presley movie The Trouble with Girls.

Mary Lee received her certificate of study in Musical Theatre from London Drama School with distinction in singing. She performs at festivals, concerts, folk clubs, and corporate and academic groups. She is a frequent performer at public schools and　libraries throughout California, Massachusetts and Washington, and gives workshops on music and infant brain development.