Customer Reviews

Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel

5 star:		(4)
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I have never written a review before but feel that I have to let others know of this outstanding CD.....was familiar with the story but the music adds so much.....my 3 years old grandson is listening to it endlessly, my daughter is using it in her teaching and as a "young senior", I am humming the "Mike Mulligan" song constantly. The extras and explanations on the tape are superb as is the booklet that comes with the CD......hope that we hear lots more from the Simons.

This is the most creative, musically valuable, beautifully done children's CD & booklet I have seen. I am a grandmother and have taught instrumental music to children for 30 years and am delighted with the amount and quality of information imparted via entertaining "gentle education", with the familiar and trustworthy yet most informative tone of the speakers and of course with the outstanding musical composition and presentation which has turned Stephen Simon's musical version of Mike Mulligan into an immediate, worthy "classic". Every child should be given the opportunity to grow up with this CD and their parents, grandparents and teachers will enjoy it equally. I hope to see more CDs with "musical stories" coming out from Maestro Simon.This one is at the top of my Christmas gift list for this year.

Hurray, hurray for Magic Maestro Music and Stories in Music.

Maestro Stephen Simon and producer Bonnie Ward Simon have given young concert-goers and their parents what is sure to be a "Grammy-winning" release.

Virginia Lee Burton's classic and beloved story of Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel is now heard with symphony orchestra in Stephen Simon's tuneful rendition that follows the Burton book word for word. The music is played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra with a piper soloist... when did you last hear Irish pipes with symphony orchestra, and conductor/composer Stephen Simon has the friendly voice of Yadu narrating the story.

This CD is much more than just a recording; the disc is boxed with a fun, entertaining and educational program book that includes music, games and background on the author, composer and soloists.

Once you hear the Mike Mulligan tune you will be singing it all day, and waiting for more releases to follow in the Stories in Music series.

Stop, look and listen... this release is not to be missed!

Amy R. Sperling

New York, NY

This is the kind of quality, well-produced, enriching recording a parent dreams of, and reaches for again and again. I am a psychologist by profession, an avid reader since age 4, and my alternate career choice was to be a classical musician. This recording speaks to all three of those passions, and allows me to feel good about offering it to my son. The mother who recommended it to me was so excited that kids could have something wonderful to help them slow down and focus, while having the experience of actively engaging their imaginations. In most children's lives, there is scant opportunity to "learn to listen," or to be actively engaged in listening to more than "sound bites" and frenetic popular music. The capacity to actively listen is a vital skill in so many facets of life: school, relationships, career, understanding the world...

My three year old asks to listen to this CD when he wants something entertaining which will hold his attention, but not leave him feeling overstimulated or wired. We were fortunate enough to have this wonderful CD on hand when my son had to make his first trip to the emergency room (for an IV while sick). He listened to it again and again while we were there, and it allowed him to have an engrossing story, fascinating music, and the engagement of his imagination. (By the way, the staff in the ER took note, and the doctor said she'll ask the administration to keep some players, headphones, and this CD on hand to help other kids!)

We look forward to more of these wonderful CDs.