This CD is a collection of songs and stories told by Burl Ives (and written by author Barbara Hazen), which is sure to engage your child, making it perfect for car rides or a quiet playtime. It was originally released in 1969 on Columbia Records and Children's Records of America, but this is the first time it's available on CD. The recording features Ives' recognizable voice, as well as the guitar, flute, bassoon, and clarinet.

The CD is organized so Ives first tells a story through his captivating voice inflections and then sings a song about the same story. This organization and presentation method assures your child will understand the song, since it is repeating information they just heard in only slightly different words, but it also helps them see that there are many different ways to tell a story. The spoken stories include soft background music from a guitar to help set the mood and carry the cadence. Ives takes his time telling the stories, much more concerned with creating animated imagery than getting to the climax, while the songs are andante tempo and filled with excitement. Within the stories are vivid descriptions, such as the crocodile in The Sailor and the Crocodile; "Its eyes were as wide as windows, and his teeth were as sharp as spikes, and from the end of his nose to the top of his tail was a dangerous ten day hike." This description appears again in the song, just in slightly different wording, stating that the crocodile was "500 miles long from the end of his nose to the tip of his tail," but creates just as astonishing an image. The phrasing used in the When Froggie Went Courting story is equally as impressive, including Miss Mousy's wedding veil of spider web lace, her dress spun of sunbeams, and the silver wedding ring with a frozen teardrop set in the middle. The accompanying song features the fun sounds of a guitar, flute, and bassoon, which may be a new sounds to your child.

A wonderful story about friendship,The Tailor and the Mouse serves as the perfect segue into teaching your child the same lessons of how to treat a friend, and the importance of forgiveness. Just like in the story and song, your child may have a friend (or sibling) who seems like a perfect match in every way but one (or even two or three!). The song also includes some gibberish words in the chorus that are fun to sing along with; they sound like "Hi diddle lump a feeda." The Very Scary Witch teaches a great lesson: be kind to all you meet because you never truly know who they are. My mom used to always tell me that anyone you meet could be your next friend, so keep that in mind when you're making your first impression. The young boy in the song passes by a witch several times on his way to the well, but doesn't acknowledge her until the end of the day. Once he finally talks to her, she stops playing tricks on him, and his family is rewarded with the delicious soup they had been trying to make all day.

I listened to this with my four-year-old niece, Emily. She now calls it "the story CD" and requests it about once a week. She really enjoyed the sounds of the clarinet in The Witch at the Well. "What is that?" she asked the first time we listened. When I told her what it was, of course she wanted to see a picture. We looked it up on the Internet and Emily immediately decided she wanted one for Christmas. It was cool to see how just hearing the sound got her excited enough to want to learn more and even play it herself.

--Audra

Burl Ives was a folksinger, radio personality, Broadway stage and screen actor, and writer - all before he had his first hit on the radio. Ives' first radio hit was Lavender Blue (Dilly Dilly) in 1949. That same year, he was signed by Columbia Records. In 1951, Ives hit the top ten chart with On Top of Old Smokey. He continued releasing many records in the latter half of the 1950s. In 1961, Ives focused more on country music, resulting in the hit A Little Bitty Tear and Funny Way of Laughing, reaching the top ten of both country and pop charts. Ives won a Grammy for Funny Way of Laughing for Best Country Western Recording. He continued recording, but focused most of his attention toward making movies, particularly at Walt Disney studio. He released his first children's album in 1964.