Is Love a Fairy Tale?

Gr 3–8—In this mix of story and song, Aoede (pronounced A-E-D), a muse from Olympus, travels to the land of Wonderhaven to look for love. Lisa Sniderman, aka Aoede, wrote the script and composed all the songs for her third album, which has already garnered several awards. Narrator Kevin Ponthier's smooth, mellow voice tells how Aoede travels to several places during her search: Wonderhaven Mythical Zoo, Wonderhaven Enchanted Garden, an ice cream shuttle, Wonderhaven Curious Carnival, Bridge to Nowhere, a graveyard, and Wonderhaven Wonderpark. Along the way, Aoede speaks and sings with many characters, including a shape-shifting frog, a garden gnome, and Mr. Wonderful. Ultimately, she meets her fairy godmother who tells her that love is already inside her and that it is the greatest thing of all. The 14 songs, which are interwoven throughout the narrative, are in a number of musical styles, including rock, folk, pop, and circus vibe. Aoede has a lovely soprano voice. The guest musicians perform with excellence on guitars, ukulele, cello, glockenspiel, bass, drums, percussion, piano, synthesizer, organ, chimes, flugelhorn, trombone, and more. Among the songs are "Is Love a Fairy Tale" (in two parts), "Make It Up as You Go," "Neapolitan Day," "Reason to Smile," and others. This fun production should find a place in most library music collections for children.—Beverly Wrigglesworth, San Antonio Public Library, TX