With a ten-year track record of glowing critical acclaim, having picked up fourteen national awards along the way, the beloved “free-range, organic” duo Hullabaloo raises the bar even higher with their 11th studio CD, Shy Kid Blues, set for release in May. (Hullabaloo Music, $12.00, for ages 3 – 8, run time 37 minutes.)
Hullabaloo is Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer, buddies since kindergarten. Shy Kid Blues mixes music and spoken word to tell the (mostly) true story of their friendship, with Hullabaloo’s down-home, good-times musical ebullience and infectious humor at the forefront. In telling their story, Steve and Brendan want to let kids (and parents) know that shyness doesn’t need to be a limitation. Shy kids are capable of doing anything they set their minds to!
Explains Steve Denyes, “In an era when kids seem to have an overabundance of ‘screen time,’ we really wanted this to be a project where the audio would inspire them to create a picture in their minds rather than have one pop up on a screen. In recording the monologues, we were inspired by classic radio shows like Prairie Home Companionand more modern versions like This American Life and Radio Lab, where stories are told in conjunction with sound effects that spark the imagination.”
Hullabaloo has made a career of creating “a foot-stomping, wing-flapping celebration of song that both honors and entertains kids and families.” Storytelling alternates with songs throughout Shy Kid Blues. The opening monologue, “A Very Quiet Baby,” sets the stage, with audio drops of a ’70s-style version of Hullabaloo’s “Run Bunny Run,” a rotary telephone, and a vintage manual cash register. The album’s first song, “Talking Shy Kid Blues,” spins the fine yarn of Steve, a very shy kid, in traditional talking blues style à la Woody Guthrie. In the monologue “Just the Opposite” we meet Brendan, an outrageously gregarious kid. Musical highlights include the hand-clapping, gospel original “365 Days on Earth,” “Best Friends Forever” (in which Steve Denyes’ strong voice and clarity of diction remind one of Asleep at the Wheel’s Ray Benson), “Earn It,” a three-chord scorcher in classic country style, “Brendan Rocks the Box,” where Brendan Kremer lays down the beat with his cajon (a wooden box drum), and “You Can Do This,” a tremendously affirmative message delivered with a tip of the hat to Kentucky bluegrass.
Among the major awards garnered by Hullabaloo are Parents’ Choice®, NAPPA, and Children’s Music Web. Parents’ Choice®enthused, “They raise their own foot-stomping ruckus with humor, infectious energy, and appealing blend of country, folk, funk, and rock rhythms.” Scholastic Parent & Child praised Hullabaloo’s “banjo, mandolin, and fiddle-powered fun.” People.com wrote, “The two-man band has hit another home run with their cool collection of instant classics featuring all the folk, funk, and rock inspirations parents (and kids) are sure to appreciate.”
Steve Denyes and Brendan Kremer really did meet in kindergarten and have been friends ever since. Together they started playing music in the 5th grade band, where they vigorously exhibited their burgeoning talents on “Old MacDonald” and “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” Little did they suspect that, decades later, these songs would still be among their biggest hits!
Steve grew up to be an elementary school music teacher, folksinger, and songwriter, while Brendan became a rock ‘n’ roll drummer. The maiden voyage of Hullabaloo took place when Steve and Brendan teamed up to play a few songs at Brendan’s twin daughters’ first birthday party. Fast-forward ten years to find that Hullabaloo has performed more than 2,000 shows throughout the country at venues ranging from birthday parties to fancy concert stages like the Austin City Limits festival, Philadelphia’s World Café Live, and LEGOLAND. Along the way they’ve released ten award-winning albums (at last count, with more than 30,000 sold) and developed a loyal following nationwide.
Shy Kid Blues will be available at hullabalooband.com, cdbaby.com, iTunes, and virtually all online music services and retailers.
We received this fun CD to review! One of the things I really like is that this two-man band really does have an unique style and sound all their own! I highly recommend this CD for all children.
HULLABALOO IN PERFORMANCE
Highlights – Spring 2014May 29 San Diego Botanic Gardens, Encinitas, CA – 6:00 p.m.
May 31 North Coast Repertory Theatre, Solana Beach, CA Album Release Concert! – 10:30 a.m.
June 1 Fiesta Del Sol, Solana Beach, CA – 9:30 a.m.
June 1 Shir Energy Festival, Cardiff, CA – 11:30 a.m. & 1:30 p.m.
Check out Hullabaloo’s website at www.hullabalooband.com.
Self Disclosure: I received this CD for FREE to facilitate this feature but any opinions expressed are my own.
Archives for April 2014
Hullabaloo Shy Kid Blues
2014 Business Expo
Heifer International Celebrates Read to Feed® Month this April
April is Read to Feed® month at Heifer International and a great time to get classrooms started in this reading incentive program. Read to Feed® fosters a love for reading, a passion to help others and a motivation to help create a better world. And, you can earn free books for your class.
This April, Heifer is adding a special book giveaway to celebrate Read to Feed month. To thank you for your support, any class that donates $600 through Read to Feed between April 1 and June 15 will receive 30 copies of one of three Read to Feed books. For a class of 30 students, that’s $20 per student.
Lamb Chop and Mallory Lewis help encourage kids to Read to Feed (clidk to see video).
Learn more about Heifer’s Read to Feed program and discover that reading really can change the world.
“The students started reading and did not look back. It is interesting to me that each year we offer the kids prizes to read–we have never seen them read like this,” said Laura Stoner, Teacher and Parent Teacher Organization representative for the Morgan Township Reading Counts Program, which has had a very successful Read to Feed® program.
“I think the difference [with Read to Feed®] has been that when they read they make a difference for someone else. I also think that they grasped the idea of community. When each one does a little it adds up to a lot,” continued Stoner.
Heifer International is grateful to the students, teachers and staff at schools and libraries like Morgan Township across the United States and around the world, who devote so much time and energy to become a part of our mission to end hunger and poverty.
With Read to Feed, students get sponsors for each book (or chapter/page) they read. Their gift of farm animals and training helps families around the world begin a life of hope and opportunity! There is no limit to the number of classrooms within a school that may participate, so invite others to join you!
For details on this special offer and Read to Feed, or to order materials including a leader’s guide and lesson plans, please visit www.readtofeed.org, call 877-275-READ (7323) or e-mail info@heifer.org
About Heifer International:
Heifer’s mission is to end hunger and poverty while caring for the Earth. For 70 years, Heifer International has provided livestock and environmentally sound agricultural training to improve the lives of those who struggle daily for reliable sources of food and income. Heifer is currently working in more than 30 countries, including the United States, to help families and communities become more self-reliant. For more information, visit www.heifer.org, read our blog, follow us on Facebook or Twitter, or call 1-888-5HUNGER (888-548-6437).
Not only can you earn free books, your students will find a new appreciation for reading while making a difference in the world, developing a sense of global community and being a part of changing the lives of children and families around the world.
Sweet Baking with Sweet Dani B Cookie Cutters!
I love to bake cookies on holidays! I also like to think outside the box! But, my favorite cookie cutters are those by Sweet Dani B! When I saw the Fox…I though this is just perfect! My son loves the song “What Does The Fox Say?” I was thrilled to receive the cookie cutter to review and I reviewed the awesome cookie cutter Egg last year. I love the style and the quality of these cookie cutters and they will surely last a long time! My son also likes to do things his way, so we thought we would have some fun making the Fox and the Egg Easter style!
For more information about Sweet Dani B and her amazing cookies, decorating tools and cookie cutters, check out her website!
Self Disclosure: I received the Fox cookie cutter for FREE to facilitate this holiday feature. Happy Easter!
Hit Scholastic Media TV Series – Goosebumps, Clifford the Big Red Dog
For the first time, Scholastic Media’s beloved children’s TV classics, Clifford the Big Red Dog and Goosebumps, are now available on iTunes! Kids and families – and other fans of the iconic shows! – will now have access to their favorite Scholastic shows anytime, anywhere.
Clifford the Big Red Dog, the Emmy® award-winning animated TV series now in its 12th season, airs daily on PBS KIDS. Based on the popular Scholastic books by Norman Bridwell, the show follows the everyday adventures of the lovable, oversized red dog and his best friends, imparting gentle life lessons to preschoolers all along the way.
Goosebumps, the TV series, based on the wildly best-selling Scholastic books by R.L. Stine, is seen on the Hub Network and consistently ranks as one of the channel’s top programs. The series follows the edge-of-your-seat stories of ordinary kids who find themselves in scary (albeit always safe and humorous) and extraordinary situations.
These globally-celebrated children’s programs are the first Scholastic Media TV series to be made available for audiences everywhere through The Orchard. Other Scholastic Media TV hits will rollout throughout the year on additional digital stores, including Microsoft Xbox, Vudu, Sony Entertainment Network, Target Ticket, M-GO, YouTube, and Google Play.
Among the other Scholastic Media TV favorites to be available digitally in the coming months include: The Babysitter’s Club,The Magic School Bus, I Spy, Clifford’s Puppy Days, Maya & Miguel and Animorphs.
Clifford Vol. 1: https://itunes.apple.com/us/
Goosebumps Vol. 1: https://itunes.apple.com/us/
Self Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation to post this info.
“Thrively helps kids discover their superpowers!”
SoCal City Kids has a new friend to introduce to you: Thrively. This is something we are truly excited about! Thrively can help you uncover some really interesting things about your kids. Check them out at Thrively.com.
I had to wait until a school day because my son (11) doesn’t like to touch the computer on a sunny weekend day. But once I sat him down, he completed the Thrively Strength Explorer pretty quickly. He really enjoyed it. His top strengths were on the money, and he loved seeing them in black and white: Creative Skill, Memory, Worldly, Analytical and fun-loving. The Strength Profile write-up was also cool – very positive, fun, etc. Honestly, I was amazed at how accurate my son’s results were.
Some facts and tips – Thrively’s Strength Explorer was developed by two of California’s seven board-certified Pediatric Neuropsychologists. It’s the first and only comprehensive online Strength Assessment specifically designed for children. After your kid takes the Strength Assessment, there are two main things you should check out: first, look through the activities that are recommended. Some are local, some are online, and some are really unique things you would potentially travel for – we saw an amazing summer program at Johns Hopkins University, for example. Next, you really have to watch the inspirational videos – there is a wide variety of content in there, from overview pieces on what it’s like to pursue certain kinds of jobs (there’s a cool one on marine biology we watched), to videos of kids doing truly incredible things at a very young age to just really inspiring speakers. Another one that my son enjoyed watching was titled “How to Find Your Passion and Inner Awesomeness.”
The Strength Profile experience was probably the highlight, but I have to say it was pretty amazing to see all of the activities that are out there, and specifically the ones my son would be well-suited for. My son is not into sports, so it’s been hard for us to find things he can get excited about. But he loves Thrively because it shows a huge range of things that have nothing to do with sports and that he (and we) had just never considered. Things like video game design and development programs, online apps and projects, robotics stuff… I’d be very surprised if you don’t find a half dozen things you’d never considered but suddenly jump to the top of the wish list.
We like to think we know a few things about activities, but the range of opportunities we saw on the site was really impressive. And instead of Google searching all day long, Thrively puts it all in one place! Seriously, how cool is that? I know we will be using this website frequently.
One final point – Thrively is deep. Supposedly, you can explore over 100,000 activities on the website, though obviously that’s more than any of us would need in a lifetime! And you can add activities as well. There are also some really useful social features, like sharing activities and content just within your Thrively social circle. Bottom line – give it a try. It’s definitely a cool experience and an essential tool for our family now!
Self Disclosure: Thively sponsored post. Photo Credit: Thrively.
The Parents Magazine 2014 Cover Contest
Parents magazine is partnering with JCPenney Portraits to give families across the country another way to enter its popular 2014 Cover Model Contest. JCPenney Portraits is offering readers a free sitting fee, free digital image, and free 8×10 portrait with a coupon that can be found in the May 2014 issue of Parents magazine or at jcpportraits.com/Parents. The winner will have the opportunity to be featured on the cover of a future issue of the magazine.
As always, parents may also submit personal photos. All submissions can be made through Parents magazine’s Facebook page or parents.com/JCPPortraits for professional JCPenney Portraits images.
“Every year we’re flooded with thousands of smiling faces and we love connecting with our readers in such a meaningful way,” said Dana Points, Editor-in-Chief of Parents magazine. “We’re thrilled to partner with JCPenney Portraits because it opens up an additional opportunity to use a professional photograph for entry for our readers. I personally know our editors will have a tough – but enjoyable – task ahead of them choosing finalists from the many adorable submissions.”
To enter the contest, parents of children ranging from newborns to 6 years of age can upload a photo of their child to theParents magazine Facebook page, or upload their professional JCPenney Portraits image to parents.com/JCPPortraits. The contest begins March 31 and runs through June 21, 2014. Readers are invited to vote for the “Readers’ Choice” finalist July 7 toJuly 13 at Parents.com.
All finalists, including one “Readers’ Choice” finalist, will be flown to New York City with their parents for an exciting, professional cover shoot during August 2014. The grand-prize winner, chosen by editors, will have the opportunity to be featured on the cover of a future issue of the publication.
“We are excited to partner with Parents magazine for their 2014 Cover Model Contest,” said Brittany Collette, Photographic Specialist for Lifetouch Portrait Studios Inc., which owns and operates JCPenney Portraits. “Like the smile of a child, our partnership with Parents magazine is picture perfect! We’ll capture the portrait and make it easy for parents to enter those smiles in the 2014 Cover Model contest.”
For complete guidelines and contest rules, pick up the latest print issue of Parents magazine, Parents tablet edition, visit the Parents Facebook page or www.parents.com/covercontest. For the free JCPenney Portraits contest offer, visitjcpportraits.com/Parents.
Noah – Epic Filmmaking That Will Test You
Noah is based on the Biblical story and greatly influenced by the graphic novel “Noah: For the Cruelty of Men.” This film has been greatly criticized for its deviation from the Biblical story. It’s good to remember that it’s not a documentary. It is a Hollywood film and, as such, a great piece of filmmaking. Enjoy it for what it is not for what it isn’t. Noah is the story about a man who is chosen by the Creator to undertake a momentous mission to rescue the innocent before an apocalyptic flood cleanses the wicked from the world. “This is an unexpected, thought provoking film, based loosely on the biblical story, and I was pleasantly surprised,” comments KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Keefer B, age 13. See his full review below.
Noah
Reviewed by Keefer B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 13
Video review available here: http://youtu.be/-ADi5QCRxgk
This is an unexpected, thought provoking film, based loosely on the biblical story, and I was pleasantly surprised. The world was created and mankind was born. Soon humans became wicked and made the world black. The Creator tells Noah (Russel Crowe) that Earth will be cleansed through a flood. Noah and his family build an ark to save the innocent. The journey begins as Noah wrestles with what the creator is asking of him.
This is not a family film, nor is it a film based entirely on the Biblical story. It is a movie. The word God is not used. Instead, the word Creator is used which opens the film to audiences of any belief. The story shows the joy of a second chance but gives a gruesome look at the world. The film follows Noah and his incredible journey. Noah witnesses the barbaric nature of the people and it’s hard to watch, however necessary. It makes Noah question if mankind should live at all and how far he’ll go to fulfill his task.
The actors portray their roles marvelously. The women cast members are particularly outstanding. Emma Watson ( Lla) and Jennifer Connelly (Naameh) are both fantastic. Connelly simply blows you away showing the strong partnership she has with Noah and the struggle that results from it.
The cinematography is grand. The locations are unlike anything of this world from the flourishing mountains to the desolate black-paved land. The ark is beyond compare in its massive size. I only wanted them to show us more of the vessel.
My favorite character is Noah. Playing a figure of faith is no small feat. Crowe shows the drive and love for the Creator but also the obsession and confusion of his task. This is what makes him human and an interesting character.
My favorite scene is when one of the fallen angels, known as The Watchers, tells Noah the tale of how they were cursed. I enjoyed the interesting designs of these characters and their tragic story. It made me empathetic with them.
The main message is, “Higher power is a guide, but it’s your personal choice that makes the final decision.” Noah is told, through a dream, that the world will be cleansed. Noah is the one who figures out to build the ark. The Creator doesn’t give clear instructions and, in the end, you’re still left wondering what the higher power really wants.
I rate this 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it to 14 to 18-year-olds. This film has violence, disturbing images and brief language. This film took a risk that I highly respect. It sends a Biblical message but is executed differently.
Credit: KIDS FIRST! Coming Attractions
