Yellow Bus is Justin's second release and contains several of his most popular songs, including "Willy Was a Whale," "One Little Cookie," and "Yellow Bus." This CD won Justin his first Parents' Choice GOLD award and was featured in People Magazine. As Disney's Family Fun magazine proclaimed, "Hop on the bus, you're guaranteed to enjoy the ride."

Justin Roberts' songs are metaphors for children, mirroring their high energy, humor, wild creativity, and topics that are important to them. Many children (and some adults) can relate to the temptation of cookies or candy before dinne. In One Little Cookie Roberts sings, "I ate the third cookie just for kicks, but man you should have seen 4, 5, & 6." The title track, Yellow Bus, uses humor while describing a very long wait for the school bus; "It's 7:33 and I drank a lot of tea, and I think I gotta take a little bitty ---." Roberts' child-like imagination is featured in the song Willy Was a Whale, about a whale that walked to Reno, Nevada. Adding to the fun, many of the words were changed to begin with 'w' just to create the fun effect of alliteration and rhyme; (Willy) tried to be wough and he tried to touch, but Willy wasn't weally wough he wasn't wough at all." Giraffe/Nightingale is a cute slower song about a conversation between a giraffe and a nightingale. A friendship between the unlikely pair develops, and the giraffe tells the nightingale, "You can fly up high way past the clouds, and you can land on my nose, it's closer to you than the ground." Real life challenges that children face are also covered, from learning to Tie Your Shoe to figuring how to deal with seeing your parent sad. Mama is Sad is told from the perspective of a child who tries to cheer his mom up by offering up his favorite toys. The tender sound of the xylophone adds the sound of innocence to the song.

Roberts' songs also stoke the imagination and participation of the listeners, whether it's singing along, adding your own words, or dancing along. The songs rhyme and have catchy choruses repeating many times. Your child will love the gibberish lines ""Oom bay doom bah deh, Chicka oom bah doom, Chica oom bah deh..." in Thought it was a Monster. Listeners can join in yelling "Car!" whenever Roberts sings the main repeating line, "When we're in the ---" in the song In the Car. They can also sing the repeating "hey!" in Hey Hippopotamus, a song about a hippo who loves to laugh and "shake his hips a little bit and do the hippo dance." All the other animals love the hippo dance and want to do it too, so he teaches them. Can your child make up their own hippo dance? Perhaps you can get them started with a few moves! Tickle My Toe makes a great soundtrack to a tickle session with your little one - who doesn't enjoy a good tickling?

My five-year-old friend, Nick, informed me that he thinks Justin Roberts is "soooooo awesome!" I asked Nick to elaborate on why he enjoys this album so much, and he stated that the songs are very funny. I think this is because during the song Yellow Bus, Nick finally asked, "Why is that kid waiting so long for the bus? I would have just gone home and had a sandwich." When the twist at the end of the song explained that it was Saturday, Nick burst out laughing hysterically.

--Audra

Justin Roberts' music has won multiple awards and recognitions. His CDs have won multiple Parents' Choice Gold Awards; "Meltdown!" in 2006, "Way Out" in 2004, "Not Naptime" in 2003, and Yellow Bus" in 2001. Sesame Street Parents Magazine also named Robert's first CD, "Yellow Bus" its "Best Music Gift of the Year."

Roberts began his career while working a second job as a Montessori preschool teacher. He started writing songs for his students and was inspired to record some of his songs, which he gave to friends and family for Christmas gifts. One of the recipients was a music producer and suggested that Roberts record the song professionally; his first CD was the result.

Roberts started travelling on the road full time in 2001, and is now a leading presence in the indie music family scene. He travels all year performing live concerts with his bandmates, called "The Not Ready for Naptime Players." Roberts has played at renowned venues like NYC's Symphony Space, CD's national Geographic Live, LA's Getty Museum, Seattle's Moore Theater, Lollapalooza, and Chicago's Ravinia. Roberts has also performed on The Today Show.

1. In the Car

2. Tickle My Toes

3. Thought it was a Monster

4. Yellow Bus

5. Willy was a Whale

6. Mama is Sad

7. Rocketship

8. Tie Your Shoe

9. One Little Cookie

10. Hey Hippopotamus

11. Giraffe/Nightengale

12. All Eyes On You