Ever since my best friend started having babies I have been surrounded by products revolving around music for babies and small children such as: The Wiggles, Little Einstein, and Baby Einstein. Neither of which, for me, are quite as educational as they should, but they are certainly high on the entertainment value (although, to be honest, I have actually learned a lot about classical music from Little Einstein believe it or not!), so in comes Juno Baby, I figured I'd give it a shot and see how the kids like it. I loved the idea of it being original music, as I think its great that someone is trying to make music that can help stimulate children's learning capabilities.
The music itself is not bad, it is a very nice collection of instrumental pieces that stand alone by themselves okay, but fit together very well as a cohesive whole. Being played by and orchestra, the songs have a lot of variety and are not focused solely on string instruments, but include brass as well, which is refreshing compared to a lot of other baby music albums which seem to be a lot more simplistic instrumentally. I am not sure how the titles of the songs (including names such as Me Echo, I'll Cut My Hair, In the Ocean, Pop!, and Brocolli.) contribute to the songs, if they were inspired by these things? Cause if they're supposed to inspire those things, can't say I felt inspired to do any of them, j/k. ;P
In all seriousness though, the kids like the music, and it kept them interested and they love to dance to it, and really, isn't that what's important? I am now interested in checking out the rest of the Juno Baby products, but as of now, I cannot vouch for how this ties in to the whole product line, but if you are looking for some new interesting music for your children, this might be a good choice!
God Bless ~Amy
Nothing extraordinary about this cd. Just a nice, soothing and enjoyable selection of music. Makes life a little more enjoyable for us grownups as well.
Not a bad item to help soothe the little ones and expose them to things they would not normally be exposed to.
Might even cause some dancing in the aisles.... it does get you hooked.
Buy Juno Baby - Orchestral Edition Now
These wordless songs are playfully played by an orchestra with less of a classical emphasis (not so heavy on strings, for example), modern but catchy. This is part of a larger collection of products, and I only have the CD, so I would be interested to find out how this integrates into the whole program, such as the words to the songs. The titles of the songs are interesting: In the Ocean, Broccoli, Walk Run and Hop, for instance. The whistling part got me trying to whistle and harmonize along. Also I could definitely imagine several songs lending themselves to dancing or other movement. I liked that the songs were so varied, though there is a unity in the whole, especially with the theme song being played at the beginning and end. I personally enjoyed the brass parts, including the trumpet solos and the tuba. I will comment more after I have had the chance to try this out with my soon to be born grandchild!
*update* OK, my grandson is now eight months old, and my DIL says that he loves this CD! I gave them two CDs for a shower present, and he likes this one. (the other one, Music Together, is great, too, but for a slightly older crowd)
Read Best Reviews of Juno Baby - Orchestral Edition Here
If you're not a fan of Juno Baby and the DVDs or at the very least familiar with them then this is just a basic CD of simple and original classical music for kids. Nothing great but nothing bad either. If you're familiar with the Juno from the DVDs then you'll be able to relate to the pieces and their titles but I felt that the charm and attraction of Juno was completely lost without the visual components.
Want Juno Baby - Orchestral Edition Discount?
Fans of Juno will recognize quite a few of these songs, and this orchestral edition does them justice. Particular favorites include Rhythm is Everywhere, Broccoli, I'll Cut My Hair, and Cool Cat. If you've never watched Juno, the song titles won't make a lot of sense but that shouldn't harm your (or your kids') enjoyment of the music. Broccoli and Rhythm is Everywhere are particularly catchy...although the Broccoli song seems to do the exact opposite of its intent by becoming a rallying cry NOT to taste broccoli. That said, it's a very different thing to hear these songs than see them on screen. Much of Juno's charm is puppetry and CGI, and although my son loves the DVDs he has no interest in the CDs.
These are the best tub crayons I have found for my 2 yr. old son. The shape of the animals fit his hands and are easy for him to hold. Also, these are the only tub crayons that the crayon doesn't slip out of the holder when my son is trying to write on the bathtub wall. I do have a tip for all the parents who want to refill the cute round bottomed holders and not have to purchase more each time the crayon in them runs out. I have found if you buy the regular crayola triangular crayons (they come in an 18 pack for $5), rip off the paper, cut the crayon in half and push it down into the animal holder till you hear a little click noise (that means the crayon is basically locked in place in the bottom of the holder) and presto! you have a refill for your cute round tub crayons. I have found the triangular crayons wash off just as well as the ones that come packaged with the holders (I think they are even the exact same crayons!!) I'm not sure crayola wants this secret out, because now we can just but the triangular crayons as refills and save our money by not buying a whole set when the crayon in them runs out!!
