The songs on this recording are all original and mostly upbeat with an influence of jazz and Japanese instruments. There are a few lullabies sprinkled in as well. The songs feature everything from a guitar, piano, bass, banjo, flute, and cello to a bouzouki, harp, dobro, accordion, and a trumpet with a mute. Children are heard singing in two songs.

This CD brings a wonderful mix of instruments, tempos, and lyrics to create creative fun songs that your child will appreciate and learn from. The first song on the CD features the banjo and bouzouki - sounds children will love! - which creates a mellow melody. The first lullaby, "Sleep Tight My Love", features the flute, while "Settler's Lullaby" begins with the sounds of wind rushing and later features the piano and cello. "Settler's Lullaby" goes on to mention many animals, and comforting phrases like, "Deeper, deeper, little sleeper. Dive into your gentle dream." Some of the longer songs tell stories, with no repeating verses. "The Great Big Kite" is very upbeat and has rhyming within each verse, but no chorus of repeating rhymes. "The Poem of a Child" also does not repeat, but it take listeners on a wild adventure - the kind a child would write; "But a child when he writes, Won't know he's a poet yet, He's the first to be surprised, By the smiling words he's met."

Many of the livelier songs are full of fun sounds for your child to imitate; they can cluck like a chicken in "Joe's Mother", quack like a duck splashing in the water at the beginning of "Yoshi and His Boat", bwak like a bird in "Four Eggs", or sing and dance the "la, la, las" during the interludes between verses. The shorter songs, like "Joe's Mother" and "If you Bump Your Knee" are sung twice through, so your little one can have a second chance to join in or get the words right. They can practice counting to ten in Japanese and French with the children on the CD in "One, Two, Three, ABCD", and then laugh at the silly lyrics about a cow that farts. If they would rather listen than dance, try to see if your child can identify any of the instruments in the songs.

The first time my four-year-old niece, Emily, and I listened to this CD, she was quiet and attentive the whole time, soaking in the music while the story was sung. She asked why the monks were wearing 'dresses' and playing a square guitar. I tried to explain the cultural differences to her. I am not sure if she understood though, because when I was done explaining, she asked, "Can I have a monk dress for Christmas?"

--Audra

The singers include Gilles' daughter, Jessica Vigneault, Thomas Hellman (Courtesy of Specctra Musique), Ndidi O, Coral Egan (courtesy of Justin Time Record) , and Patrick Watson (courtesy of Secret City Records). Watson also won Canada's prestigious Polaris Prize in 2007.

The Secret Mountain's music has touched the hearts of parents and children for years. With multiple awards from Parents' Choice, NAPPA and Juno Awards, the Montreal-based publishing house has made great children's entertainment that both kids and adults will love.