Orangutan Van. Performed by Mr. Steve. CD. 51 min. SteveSongs.com. 2013. ISBN unavail. $13.98.
PreS-Gr 3–Award-winning kids’ musician Steve Roslonek (professionally known as “SteveSongs” and as “Mr. Steve” to viewers of PBS Kids) continues his winning ways with the release of his eighth album for children. The 14 songs balance catchy melodies, smart lyrics, and humor just right for the intended
audience. Recorded retro-style (with multiple instruments at the same time), there is a clean, unified sound—nothing is isolated. Opening with “Recess Rocks” (a technopop-rap-fusion movement song), Roslonek celebrates the inner “Superhero You” (an adult-sounding contemporary easy listening/rap that features a flute countermelody), plays an alphabet game in “A Is for Silly” (sidekick Silly Vanilli the puppet is “awesome”), and presents a mathematical puzzle in the title tune. “Brush, Brush, Brush” is a get ready for school game song. “All in This Together (MLK)” is an upbeat number that features lyrics inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Fans of Jeff Brown’s Flat Stanley books/The FlatStanley Project will be thrilled to sing about further travels of their hero. “Soaring withReading,” “Grumpy Boy,” and “Soaring without a Rhyme” (a duet with Anand Nayak) also bear mention. Quirky fun for the family.–Stephanie Bange,WrightStateUniversity,Dayton,OH