Boo, Cackle, Trick Or Treat
"Oh, the bats (squeak, squeak) sing a squeaky song, and they sing (squeak, squeak) nearly all night long, catching bugs (squeak, squeak) till the break of dawn, then the bats (squeak, squeak) fly away." In Sue Schnitzer's musical world, Halloween is infinitely more fun than scary. A creaking-door sound introduces this folksy, downright perky CD of original or newly arranged children's songs such as "Your Bones" ("your thigh bone's connected to your knee bone," etc.) and a hauntingly beautiful version of "Ghost of John," with deep, mournful cello and flute. First graders from Crest View Elementary School in Boulder sing, scream, or giggle along with these festive songs about pumpkins, skeletons, bats, witches, monsters, and ghosts. Sue Schnitzer sings and plays guitar, but a bass, fiddle, keyboard, harmonica, flute, drums, and a cello join in as well. Pleasantly eerie tunes like "All Skin and Bones" are punctuated by long "ooooohs" and plenty of repetition that make it fun for kids to sing along even without knowing all the lyrics. The CD ends with a minute's worth of very silly Halloween riddles such as "Why did Dracula have no friends? Because he's a pain in the neck." (Maniacal giggles follow.) A few more Halloween jokes speckle the liner notes, along with some ideas for Halloween crafts. Young ghouls and boys will certainly revel in this wonderfully eclectic trick-or-treat bag of Halloween songs. Boo! (Ages 4 to 7)--Karin Snelson