Million Smiles to Go

PreS-Gr 3—Steve Courtney, veteran children's singer/songwriter, puts his best foot forward in this compilation of 22 original songs. The majority of the tunes are lively or bluesy. Some have a positive message, such as "Happy Go Lucky Shoes," that encourages listeners to put on those shoes when times are rough, while others, such as "Chicken Poo," are just plain fun. A few of the songs are a bit slower and gentler. There also are a couple of unique stand-outs. "Detective Joe" is a spoken word tale about a gumshoe who deals with the bad guys, and "Empty Nest" is an interesting tune that is open to double interpretation. For children, it will be a nice song about a mother bird whose babies fly away, while to parents it will take on a completely different meaning. Once in a while the lyrics go by a bit quickly and some vocabulary may need to be explained to younger listeners, All in all, this is a solid offering for collections where more contemporary children's music is needed.—Veronica De Fazio, Plainfield Public Library District, IL