Ralph Covert's debut Disney Sound Label CD, "Ralph's World" is a high energetic ride through multiple musical genres; rock, country, folk, lullaby, and even disco! The great majority of the music is written by Covert, with very few traditional songs used. Covert's enthusiastic vocals are emphasized primarily by his guitar and the children who sing along on most of the tracks. Other instruments to listen for include the bass, banjo, harmonica, trumpet, accordion, woodblock, and whistle. This is a great playtime song or for sing-alongs in the car.

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

Covert started writing songs for kids after the birth of his daughter, Fiona. At that time, he was teaching a music class for children at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music. His success as a musician for children is clear; Covert's album "Green Gorilla, Monster & Me" was nominated for a Grammy in 2005, and he has appeared on the Early Show (CBS), NPR's 'All Things Considered', World News Tonight (ABC), and received accolades from Time, Newsweek, and People magazine. Specifically, The New York Times said "It is possible that Mr. Covert will turn out to be [the] genre's Elvis Presley, or at the very least it's Elvis Costello." Covert is also an award-winning playwright, author, and has written music for adult theatrical dramas, as well as children's musicals.

1 - Freddy Bear the Teddy Bear

2 - Choo-Choo Train

3 - Ragtime Coyboy Joe

4 - Seven Monkeys Up in a Tree

5 - Animal Friends

6 - Marching Medley

7 - Winnie the Pooh/the wonderful Thing About Tiggers

8 - All My Colors

9 - The Name Song

10 - You Can't Rollerskate in a Buffalo Herd

11 - Emily Miller

12 - Take A Little Nap (The Disco Song)

13 - Four Little Duckies

14 - ABCs

15 - Driving In My Car

16 - Tickly the Tiger

17 - Bedtime Girl

18 - Now Its Time To Say Goodbye