THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

With humor, rhythms, and rhymes, Children's Poet Laureate Prelutsky shows his versatility with this performance. Banjo, fiddle, guitar, and autoharp create complex music that pairs with Prelutsky's singing to fit the tone of the poems. The minor key and deep singing of "Gloppers" accent the ominous quality of roving, unstoppable people destroyers. "My Mother Says I'm Sickening" is an a cappella duet between an annoying, nasally sounding boy and a calm, resigned mother. "Louder than a Clap of Thunder," a poem full of loud comparisons, builds tension and curiosity with a series of soundscapes--from a rushing waterfall to snoring. The range of poems and deliveries begs for re-listening and imitation. S.W. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 07]