Wild Child CD Review and Giveaway

What Is It?

Recess Music, a company that strives to awaken kids to the magnificence of our planet through albums of earth-friendly music, released August 16th, Wild Child, the fourth in its award-winning “Celebrate Earth” series of CDs. Singing the praises of Africa fauna, the 14 tracks of Wild Child showcase musical contributions by a sampling of today’s most gifted kids’ musicians, including Jack Grunsky, Anna Moo, and Danny Adlerman.

Notes Recess Music’s founder, Nancy Doan, “Of all the creatures on Earth, the animals of Africa are some of the most threatened in our world. When I think of the children of future generations, I’m struck by how sad it will be if they never have the possibility of seeing an elephant or a tiger or a hippo in its natural habitat. I believe that Mother Nature intended for ALL of Earth's inhabitants to share our green planet with one another.”


Wild Child opens with “Earth Lullaby,” featuring the beautiful voice of Kathy Lowe accompanied by African drums, chorus, electric guitar and bass, and continues with a gospel-tinged celebration of the Serengeti plain by the team of Aaron Glassman and Andrew Spence. Penelope Torribio gently captures the delicate beauty of a fragile environment as she sings “Rainforest By Morning.” Exotic birdcalls at the song’s conclusion create a smooth transition to Jack Grunsky’s relaxed, Caribbean styled “Sunrise In The Jungle.” The African day builds momentum with Ed Jordan and Alan Glass offering delightfully catchy rhymes about “Rita, the Cheetah.” More animal calls announce the South African sounds of Danny Adlerman singing “Africa Calling,” and Anna Moo poses some provocative questions in her exotic, “Mysteries Of The Nile.” The African experience continues with evocative selections by Birdie’s Playhouse, Kimmy Schwimmy, Melita Doostan, Wayne From Maine, and Aaron Burnett. At the album’s close, Cosima offers a taste of authentic African language in “Thula Baba,” with Tish Steinfeld settling listeners down for the evening in “Full Moon Over Africa.”


While experiencing a multi-faceted life as a mother, wife, and minister, Nancy Doan became convinced of the need to make the world a better place through a two-fold approach: sustaining our environment and teaching kindness. Because music held a prominent place in both her own childhood and her experiences as a mother, Nancy developed an appreciation of the power of music as an educational tool. When the onset of systemic lupus erythematosus dictated a career change, she cast about for a way to continue to serve the causes to which she had dedicated her life. This search ultimately led to the creation of Recess Music, a company dedicated to the twin goals of environmental awareness and social empathy.

Fulfilling its declared mission of entertaining, encouraging, and educating children and families about the wonders of our planet, Recess Music has previously released three albums in the “Celebrate Earth” series, beginning with Celebrate Earth in spring 2010. Growing Veggie Soup followed, with songs chosen for their focus on gardening and sustainable farming practices. The music of Ocean Motion, the award-winning third installment of the “Celebrate Earth” music series, is dedicated to the understanding and preservation of the world’s ocean life and its habitats.


Coming next from Recess Music, in fall 2011, will be U R Some 1, the second in the company’s “Best Foot Forward” series of albums dedicated to helping kids value a world that is wise, fair, and generous hearted.

What We Thought:

The Lion King meets a hippy commune--that's what came to my mind when I first started listening to "Wild Child" with Maggie. I LOVE this CD! The tunes are catchy and fun. Its all about African animals and the music has an Earthy feel to it.  My favorite song is "Elephant in the Congo" which has this fun beat that makes me think of Jamaican music. This song talks about Elephants and how they are being threatened by the shrinking size of the Congo and the sale of their ivory. Even my husband said how much he liked that song!

Maggie, I have learned, loves to have background noise (she must get it from me, I'm the same way!). She normally always asks to have something on the tv. I've had this CD on all morning though and she's been so happy listening to it that she hasn't asked for a movie. She's happily playing right now while I type!

I give this CD 2 thumbs up and know that we'll be listening to it a lot in years to come!

BUY IT!

Wild Child is available online at http://www.recessmusic.com/, amazon.com and its international affiliates, iTunes, and brick and mortar retailers throughout the U.S.

CD Details: Wild Child

• For ages 4 - 12.
• Label: Big Round Records
• SRP: $11.99
• Run time: 47 minutes.

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*I was not paid for this review. Thanks to the company for the complimentary review and giveaway items.*