Children’s Music CD Review: Animal Tales by Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke

by Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman

Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke have done it again! The duo have come up with yet another whimsical album full of witty and clever lyrics paired with catchy music. Their previous album, Pleased to Meet You, is always playing at my house, especially when I want to get the kids up and going and need some good energy. And I still use it for when I’m cleaning. Animal Tales is a whole other animal (pun intended) in terms of the style of music – it’s not as upbeat with high energy, but still enjoyable to both children and adults alike.

 

Original, catchy melody and and inventive lyrics are a Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke trademark and are apparent throughout the album which celebrates animals. I received a copy for review and here is what I thought:

The first song is a welcome song to Animal Kingdom in which the performers name some of the animals that they sing about in the album (such as armadillo, caterpillar, platypus, even beastapuss). I loved that many of the songs in the album are educational: “Bear Song” discusses the 8 different types of bears that exist and teaches tidbits about each type. (Check out the music video here). Fans of Eric Carl’s “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” will love the Beatles-esque “Katy Caterpillar”, which discusses the life cycle of a butterfly. The chorus is one of the most gorgeous melodies you will hear in current children’s music.

My favorite song, musically speaking, is “Armando Armadillo”. After hearing it just once I was able to sing along the second time and it felt like I have known that song forever. The lyrics are a little weird here, though. There are some tidbits about armadillos but there’s also an obvious allegory to Mexicans crossing the border and their struggle to make a living in the U.S. This will, no doubt, go over most kids’ heads but as an adult I found it both endearing and disturbing at the same time. Regardless, this song is just cute as a button, I can’t stop singing it to myself. I’m kind of obsessed, I’m listening to it as I’m writing this, which is why it’s taking me forever to finish this post.

The last song, “Animal Island” is a beautiful and eerie allegory about humans and their relationship to animals and nature. It’s a great song to end the album, not just because of the poignant, crystal-clear message, but because of the gentle, soft melody which can lull kids at bedtime and also give them something to think about as they drift off to sleep.

Click here to purchase Animal Tales or download it on iTunes.

I was not compensated for this post. I received a sample.

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Senior Reviewer Maytal Wichman is the owner of Mama’s Bites and has also written for The Huffington Post. She has been living in New York City for thirteen years and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature as well as a Law Degree, but blogging is her true passion. Maytal is a stay-at-home mom to three kids (ages 7, 5 and 2) and loves finding great products that make her family’s life easier.