Ralph Covert's songs are very catchy and easy to learn because of the repetition, silly and memorable lyrics, sound effects, rhyme, and fun alliteration. "Emily Miller", performed with vocals only, is a great example of silly lyrics your son or daughter won't soon forget, as Emily Miller has fur on her belly and no one even seems worried! Covert changed the lyrics to one of K.C. and the Sunshine band's famous disco songs to create, "Take a Little Nap." Children join in the second verse singing "Shake, shake shake. Shake, shake, shake. Shake your boo-tay." "Marching Medley" also begins with a familiar song, "The Ants Go Marching", but moves in to various other marching-related songs, each verse separated by a fun, "Boom, boom, boom" from Covert. "Tickle the Tiger" plays with alliteration, as Covert sings about all the crazy things he'll do when he visits the zoo, such as lick the lion, ride a rhinoceros, paint the pig, eat with an elephant, and zig zag with the zebra. "Bedtime Girl" is the one lullaby on the album; an endearing song Covert wrote for his daughter.
Beyond just singing along, many songs on the CD are interactive, such as when Covert tells listeners "Now it's your turn" and remains quiet for a verse while the music continues so your little one can sing their own verse. This is seen in "The Name Song" and "You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd"; in the former, your child can insert their own name - or anyone in their family, and in the latter, Covert instructs listeners to 'put two things together that don't fit together, and then sing your own verse!' The "ABCs" has a surprising challenge when listeners are not only asked to sing the alphabet regularly, but also backward! Be prepared to be impressed when you little one memorizes this! Listeners will also practice how to count to four in four different languages in the song, "Four Little Ducks." If your child is in a silly mood, they can make fun car noises like "Beep", "Swish", "ptttt" (muffler), and "Hi!" (what you yell out the window when you see your best friend!) in the song, "Driving in My Car," imagine putting all the different animals to bed in "Animal Friends", or name every color they can at the end of "All My Colors."
My three-year-old friend Sam was already quite familiar with this CD when I brought it over one day. We sang along to the songs in the afternoon, and when it came time for bed, Sam started dancing around in his pajamas singing, "We'll put on our pajamas and have a hootenanny," which is from the song, "Freddy Bear the Teddy Bear." When I informed Sam it was 'bed time - not hootenanny time', he changed to singing "The Name Song", but named me 'mean'. I was not popular that night.
--Audra