I love finding a new children’s musician for my kids to enjoy, and I get even more excited when I find a new Canadian children’s musician. So when I was asked to review two of the fantastic CDs from Will Stroet, an award-winning children’s musician that has released five original children’s CDs in both English and French, I was delighted.
Will was a new musician to me, but he is definitely not a new children’s musician; he has been delighting children with whimsical songs since 2005 and has performed at numerous children’s festivals and even at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. I put on the newest of the two CDs that I received, the brand new Walk ‘N’ Roll, and immediately wished that I had learned about Will and his music sooner. This CD contains some of the most fun and easy listening music I have ever listened to!
The CD, as the name implies, has a great rock and roll feel to many of the songs. The melodies are energetic and incredibly adult-friendly, but the subject matter is all kid. From hippos to booster seats, hygiene to jam, there is lots of different subject matter on the CD but it is all very kid-friendly! I loved how fun and informative the songs were; they actually had information about real topics like the weight at which a child can move out of a booster seat and the different classic and popular books that are available at the library.
After hearing how fabulous the first CD was, I eagerly popped in Will’s 2008 English CD entitled My Backyard. I immediately noticed that the feel of the music was much mellower than the first CD I had listened to. The style had more of a folk-rock influence that was perfect for a lazy summer afternoon. The songs had the same fun variety that I had enjoyed about Walk ‘n’ Roll and the songs were both informative and entertaining, with some even being downright wacky. Henry the Meowing Dog was the perfect example of a purely fun and silly song.
But the brilliance of Will’s music is that some of the most wacky-sounding songs are actually incredibly informative. I didn’t expect a song entitled Make Friends With an Earthworm to be in any way instructive, but the song actually helps to explain how bugs are an essential part of our ecosystem.
I loved the CDs, but of course, children’s music isn’t doing its job unless children love it too. I put Walk ‘n’ Roll into the CD player for my boys and they were instantly dancing around the living room. We spent the afternoon listening to muisc and they loved every song on the two CDs. They went back and forth between sedate listening, energetic dancing and hysterical laughing all depending on the song. One of their favourite songs had to be Hoppin’ Up and Down. They loved joining in on the different actions in this modern song that reminded them instantly of If You’re Happy and You Know It.
Overall, my boys and I both loved My Backyard and Walk ‘n’ Roll. The music is enjoyable for parents, tons of fun for kids and instructive as well as entertaining. For a rocking good time for the whole family, check out Will’s fabulous award-winning music for yourself!
Buy It: To purchase Will Stroet’s CDs My Backyard or Walk ‘n’ Roll, check the website for a retailer near you or shop online now
Win It: One very lucky reader is going to win their choice of any two CDs in English and/or French from Will
To Enter (mandatory): Visit www.willmusic.ca and tell me about something you liked or something you learned there
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Giveaway ends 11:59 pm CST on August 7, 2011. Open to US and Canada
Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above were provided free of charge from the company or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view full Terms of Use and Policies
He was born and raised in Vancouver….my home town!
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I LOVE that this is bilingual – my daughter loves french, and would love this CD I am sure!
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i learned that he is from Vancouver and I LOVE that he is bilingual! songs are one of the best ways to remember words in another language
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i follow you both and tweeted:
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I learned that Will Stroet first started writing kids’ songs while completing his bachelor of education at the University of BC in 2004. In the fall of 2005, he recorded his first CD, “Let’s All Dance.”
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I love the Let’s All Dance
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I learned that Will and his CD earned him a 2011 Western Canadian Music Award nominee – “Walk ‘n’ Roll.” He also has many other awards and recognitions to his credit.
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I learned that Will was born and raised in Vancouver, Canada.
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I learned that he recorded his first CD, “Let’s All Dance,” in the fall of 2005!
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I liked Will Stroet on Facebook!
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I’m following both of you on Twitter and I tweeted about this giveaway!
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