Gotta Be the Pants!

PreS-Gr 3—Veteran children's performer Mike Mennard's new group, Mike and the Magic Pants, delivers a debut album filled with music, poetry, and fun to delight the entire family. By combining clever, easy-to-follow lyrics with fantastic vocals and harmonies, each song in this collection is a joy to listen to. Each number has its own flavor and tells a story that could easily be acted out on a theater stage. "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" is sung in the style of an opera singer, a cowboy, a pirate, and more. "Skunk in It" tells of a horrible smell coming from an unsuspecting boy's sneaker. A wide variety of topics are covered from the "Bigger Bladder," about a child on a road trip (this one will especially tickle the funny bone of boys) to the gentle, beautiful "Happy Adoption Day." Interspersed with the 15 songs are short poems like "When Squid Jumped Rope" and silly riddles that start with the phrase "Ask me if I'm a…watermelon/asparagus/stick of butter." While most of the songs are too long to use in story time, they are great for family listening. A must-have for every collection.—Veronica De Fazio, Plainfield Public Library District, IL