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Here's what people are saying about
"Philadelphia Chickens"
For all ages, except 43.
"Sandy Boynton is someone who understands the profound importance of nonsense and silly beans." - Meryl Streep
Selected for Childrens Book of the Month Club
A star-studded cast, including Kevin Bacon, Laura Linney, Kevin Kline, and Meryl Streep, belt out 17 1/2 quirky, whimsical, and all-out rockin' tunes for the entire family on Sandra Boynton's latest madcap project, "Philadelphia Chickens" (Workman Publishing, 2002). This original musical in a book includes illustrations, lyrics, and a full-length CD. "Kids will DEMAND to hear the CD many, many times, and will probably also want many, many copies of it," jests Boynton, who, along with co-composer Michael Ford, contributors and the publisher, will be donating part of the proceeds to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and juvenile Diabetes Foundation. - Nick Junior Magazine
"A super sing-along"
Want to entertain the kids? Check out "Philadelphia Chickens", by Sandra Boynton. This book and CD set features 18 toe-tapping show tunes about everything from belly buttons to pajamas. To encourage kids to sing along, the book includes the lyrics for each song. Parents will also get a kick out of this musical-in-a-book format - Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, and Kevin Kline are just a few of the famous voices on the CD! - Parents Magazine
Sandra Boynton, long heralded for her menagerie of animal characters (Moo, Baa, La La La; Rhinoceros Tap), puts a fresh cast of singing, dancing critters center stage-from the titular boogying chickens to a tail-wagging "snuggle puppy"-in Philadelphia Chickens, a book-and-CD package billed as an "imaginary musical revue." The first 32 pages contain lyrics and illustrations, the second half of the book includes musical notation and additional lyrics for each song. An all-star cast, including Meryl Streep, Laura Linney, Eric Stoltz and the Bacon Brothers, headlines the musical recording, which features a variety of original show tunes penned by Boynton and composed by Boynton and frequent collaborator Michael Ford. - From Publishers Weekly
*****Fantastic for adults as well as children!, November 30, 2002
Reviewer: A 6-year old readerI know it says childrens review, yet I just can't let this book/cd go by without saying "Finally" a book/cd I can enjoy with my 6 yr. old grand daughter. I bought it after hearing Philidephia Chickens on the Early Show. My daughter, grand daughter and I (age65) couln't stop laughing, singing and dancing while listening to it. The songs are so cute; Be Like a Duck had us dancing around the kitchen. Love Pig Island. Faraway Cookies really had us laughing and then there is Snuggle Puppy. I could go on and on. Great, great, great.
*****A book & CD for children of all ages!, November 29, 2002
Reviewer: Carole A. Deal from New Berlin, NYI have bought a lot of children's books and music. This is the most delightful, funfilled book with music I have ever seen or heard. It's quality from beginning to end. I am buying this for children I don't normally give a gift to....it's something both the parents and kids will find absolutely wonderful!!
*****Cheers for the Chickens!!, November 26, 2002
Reviewer: from JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDABefore I could listen to the rest of the CD that comes with the song book, imaginatively illustrated and presented, a friend of mine practically snatched out of my hands to hear what I'd been raving about. My introduction to "The Philadelphia Chickens" was on the TODAY SHOW (pre-Christmas 2002). I never heard a word about it after the interview so I surmised that the "Chickens" was tossed on a stack with the myriad of books released for the big holiday rush. Being a musician and a collector of Broadway musical scores, I found this to be a "kiddie" musical. The lyrics are clever and sung with integrity. The sound is big and expansive. All the songs are slightly nutty, but have very plausible messages, like the girl who is too short to reach the chocolate chip cookies, and the ardvaark who think's he should be in the "dancing cow line". So far I've bought three copies. And parents! This won't drive you crazy either. In fact, I bet after the tree comes down and the kids return to school, dad will have that CD in his car for a nice chuckle on the way to work. The piano music and lyrics are part of the boook, "Philadelphia Chickens", with fanciful stories and illustrations. It's intelligent, too!! It will make such a welcome, refreshing gift or just an enduring book and CD designed to bring smiles to all. (Or, except as the author says on the cover, "to everyone except those who are 43!")
And, speaking from a childhood experience, if your little one is home sick in bed, these songs and stories will make a loving get-well tonic.
*****The best CD/BOOK out there!, November 22, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Ft. Wayne, InI have an in home daycare with children from 6 months to 10 years and they all love listening, singing, and/or reading this book/cd. It was the best investment in my daycare so far and it doesn't drive me crazy to listen to the CD over & over! I am still waiting on Rhinoceros Tap, but I am sure it will be a big hit too!
*****Philadelphia Chickens is wonderful!, November 22, 2002Reviewer: Sally from Duluth, MN
The book and CD are delightful. Have listened to it twice and am already singing along. Great gift for kids or anyone who ever was a kid.
*****A Marvelous Manic Romp....., November 21, 2002
Reviewer: Roz Levine from VirginiaIt's a dazzling, illustrated book. It's a rollicking musical. It's Sandra Boynton at her very best as she and collaborator, Michael Ford, bring their "imaginary musical revue," Philadelphia Chickens, to life on your stage. Open the book as the curtain goes up, and follow along as you listen to an all-star cast on the accompanying CD. Or meet at the piano to sing and play along, using the words and music in part two of the book. Ms Boynton's clever lyrics are rich in humor and wit, and complemented by her endearing bold, bright and busy, signature animal illustrations. Philadephia Chickens is an exuberant, fun-filled, manic romp that engages and captivates, and "youngsters" from 3 to 93 will revel in all the fun.
*****Fun ! Fun ! Fun !, November 20, 2002
Reviewer: Tina Navestad from Dallas, PAA great book to go with our Sandra Boynton collection. The songs are great and I will be sharing this with my sons school.You will definetly have fun with this one.
*****Philadelphia Chickens is for everyone!, November 1, 2002
Reviewer: A reader from Perkasie, PAThis music is enjoyed by us all. I dare you to keep your feet still while listening to this great music! Once again Boynton and Ford created a masterpiece!
*****A musical for all ages!, October 30, 2002
Reviewer: sarahlynblue from Shelbyville, INYeah! This is a fantastic book/CD for my whole family. Though we are all above the recommended ages. (Our youngest is 9) We have had a great time with this musical. On road trips it has replaced our normal sing along songs. The laughed so hard the first time I heard it I was in tears. The kids love it as much as I do. This is a delight for all ages. High praise by the whole family, including my dog named Bob.
*****Very cute!, October 22, 2002
Reviewer: Clarissa R. Knight from Savannah, GAI think our children and grandchildren will regard Sandra Boynton as we and our parents regard Dr. Seuss. As usual, her stories are adorable. I saw highlights on the today show this morning and had to go buy it today. My daughter's a little young for it (7 months) but her 2 year old friends loved the music. It's a children's CD I like and do not find annoying (such as those by that purple creature).
The book is well done. There is a page for each of the songs with an illustration. There is also sheet music and lyrics for each song in the back of the book.
I'm sure we'll cherish this one for years to come! (Back to top)
Here's what people are saying about
"Rhinoceros Tap"
Entertaining for ages 0 on up
Editorial Reviews
Parents' Choice Award 1997
Rhinoceros Tap is a big, illustrated songbook with accompanying audiocassette that invites children to read along, song along, dance along, and oink along to 15 original songs. Includes blister-packed 42-minute audiocassette. Full color throughout.
Selected for Children's Book of the Month Club
Amazon.com ***** customer rating
Review of "Rhinoceros Tap" by Alice Cary
Sandra Boynton's lovable characters don't have names, but almost everyone knows them. Her pigs, cats, dogs, and menagerie of furry creatures grace over 8,000 different greeting cards that sell a total of more than 20 million copies each year. Her crew is also featured on mugs, T-shirts, calendars, stuffed animals, even wallpaper. They are the heroes of more than 20 books for children and adults, including the best-selling Chocolate: The Consuming Passion.
Boynton has made her latest artistic leap with dancing shoes in mind -- Rhinoceros Tap and 14 Other Seriously Silly Songs is a book and tape package featuring her songs as well as accompanying illustrations. She teamed up with pianist Mike Ford to write the songs; they chose singer and actor Adam Bryant to perform on the tape.
Lest Boynton fans wonder about the wisdom of this venture, the artist is no stranger to music. She sang in the Yale Glee Club and dreamed of becoming a theater director while a student in the esteemed Yale Drama School. She started designing greeting cards to earn money for grad school, but her runaway success led her from the stage into an art studio. (Boynton works in a converted barn in Connecticut, where she lives with her husband and their four children.)
Just one look at the new book's cover, which features a prancing rhino with a cane and top hat, is proof positive that Boynton's a natural when it comes to music. Here are 14 tunes guaranteed to keep both kids and parents stomping, clapping, singing, and grinning.
"Kids deserve real music with variety and unpredictable lyrics," Boynton says. "I've always enjoyed the rhythm of writing, so creating kids' music seemed like a logical next step."
She pulls off the feat deftly, creating a tape that's a veritable showcase of wit and whimsy. The music is the centerpiece of this package, and variety is the key word, with music styles that include reggae, jazz, blues, pop, funk, a square dance, even a lullaby. Think Manhattan Transfer meets a chorus line of lovable creatures possessing Fred-Astaire-and-Ginger-Rogers-like talent.
The song titles alone are enough to make listeners smile, such as: "The Crabby Song," "Bad Babies," "O, Lonely Peas," "I Love You More Than Cheese" (an ode from one mouse to another), "The Shortest Song in the Universe."
For years Boynton has made her pictures sing, using simple sketches to express every emotion from utter glee to glumness. She now shows that she can make lyrics practically jump off the page. Take, for instance, the refrain from the title song, "The Rhinoceros Tap": "Skittery Cat, Skittery Cat, Stomp Stomp!/Rabbity Rabbity Rabbity Rabbity, Skittery Cat, Stomp!"
If you're not dancing along to the tape, open the book and check out the illustrations, where chorus lines of cats, rabbits, rhinos, and cows look like they're ready for Broadway. Although a book of lyrics may not sound interesting, Boynton makes it come alive with illustrations and clever variations in type styles, size and color. Music is also included for anyone who wants to play along.
Much of the humor is straightforward enough to make preschoolers giggle. ("Dinner is over./I like what I ate./Except for the peas,/Which are still on my plate.") There are also jokes that appeal to more sophisticated palates. ("I'd give up Provolone/If you would have it so./If you'd give me a/Kiss, please, then/Swiss cheese/I'd forego.")
Boynton says she prefers writing to drawing. Indeed, this is one pun-ny woman. Her birthday card "Hippo Birdie Two Ewes" has been a bestseller for years. So it's no great surprise that her lyrics are so singable, with lines like "piggy doo wah" and the high-stepping square dance commands of "Barnyard Dance":
Bounce with the bunny.
Strut with the duck.
Spin with the chickens now --
CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!
Both the book and the songs feature puns galore, such as the square dance caller's comment: "Now that's what I call Agri-Culture."
Few artists are as versatile and talented as Sandra Boynton. I buy her cards. Years ago I gobbled up her chocolate book; lately I've been reading her books to my son. Now the two of us will be dancing and singing our hearts out to Rhinoceros Tap.
A message for Ms. Boynton: Thanks for the tape. Now we're ready for the musical!
Alice Cary is a dancing book reviewer in Groton, Massachusetts.
***** "Show tunes for kids!"
Reviewer: A reader from Pumpkin town, California December 31, 1999
"My 2 1/2 yr old son, already a fan of Boynton's magic, was enthralled by the book and accompanying tape. The songs are witty and easy to learn, and the music doesn't grate on an adult's ear the way some children's songs do. Once again, Sandra Boynton has done a great job of interweaving learning and fun! Particular favorties: Oh, Lonely Peas, Tickle Time, and So Long, Doggies. When I put my son to bed the other night, he said to me "Mommy, I love you more than cheese" This book and tape combination has really made an impression!
(My only 'complaint' - it would be great if there was also a CD version.) "
***** "My daughter's favorite!!!! "
Reviewer: A reader from Texas July 26, 1999
"...and not too bad for grown-ups either! It is now a standard gift for anyone I know with young children."
***** "The best gift my son ever got!"
Reviewer: A reader from Oklahoma June 4, 1999
"My husband collects rhinos so this gift was to both him and my 20 month old son. I think that Sandra Boynton has outdone herself in this effort. My son and husband take this tape/book along on all their road trips and it gives us a happy break from the monotony of playing with toys and talking. They both now know all the words so that they can sing along with the tape."
***** "Fantastically entertaining for kids and adults!"
Reviewer: A reader from Philadelphia, PA May 3, 1999
"The tape is such a wonderful break from Disney songs. My daughter and I listen to it over and over again in the car and sing the songs to each other at home. The tunes are catchy and the lyrics are really funny. A must have. "
***** "The best kids album ever!"
Reviewer: A reader from Woodstock, IL April 26, 1999
"This is by far the easiest to take children's music I've ever heard. Not a dry earnest folkie effort that tries to teach lessons, not a goofy jokey thing filled with mediocre musicianship, not a rehash of all of the old standards (thank God, no "Itsy Bitsy Spider"). Fresh new words (for the most part; at least one of her books comes recycled as a song), and inventive music across several genres (R&B, funk, dance hall, straight Brill Building numbers), including perhaps the first ever turkey on the make pitching woo via the blues. Adam Bryant's singing of these songs could not be improved upon even in one's imagination, and the arrangements are sprightly and appropriate. A masterpiece; brava, Ms. Boynton, you've done it again! Can you do no wrong?"
***** "I've heard it 100 times this week and love it!"
Reviewer: A reader from Displaced Coloradoan April 7, 1999
"I don't think I'll ever get to listen to NPR in the car again as my daughter listens to this non-stop and follows along in the book (and she isn't really reading yet). Who'd have thought we would get to hear "Horns to Toes" set to music?! "
***** "Childrens Music that adults love too!"
Reviewer: A reader from Montclair, New Jersey, USA January 27, 1999
"I have a hard time listening to most "Children's Music" even once, but no one in our family ever tires of this one. The music is sophisticated enough for adults to enjoy but simple and catchy enough that children love it. My 3 year old knows all the words. The music is varied and the lyrics are witty and humorous to all ages. This has been the birthday present of choice for all my daughter's friends this year. It's hard to find though - I was happy to find it here."
***** "One of the best children's music tapes available!"
Reviewer: A reader from NYC January 2, 1999
"Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford have teamed up to create one of the happiest, hippest tapes available. Both kids and parents will love it, even after hundreds of hearings. The tape should be better known--it's leagues ahead of the dreck that is marketed as "children's music" these days, and well worth the price. Favorite songs include "Bad Babies," "Tickle Time" and "Oh, Lonely Peas." Workman, if you want someone to go and sell this as a backlist title, give me a call... "
***** "Fabulous!!!"
Reviewer: A reader from Hampton, Virginia, USA September 24, 1998
"What a great book and tape! I want this on CD so I can keep it forever! My kids love it; my husband loves it. I've loved Boynton's stuff since my kids were born and I enjoy it more and more! Just glad Amazon.com could get -- I couldn't find it anywhere else."
***** "Hysterical for the young and young at heart!"
Reviewer: Anne from Concord, NH August 23, 1998
"This is a fantastic book/tape set. My family and I listened to it on a 7 hour ride in the van and it soon became a favorite! Several of the songs were familiar to us from Boynton's book collection- "Horns To Toes" and "Barnyard Dance", and the kids and I particularly love "Oh Lonely Peas"! The songs are varied in style and there is something for everyone, even a love song called "I Love You More Than Cheese". I am ordering 2 more sets for a gift for my 7 year old neice and a spare to have at home. This will be a forever favorite!"
***** "Boynton is brilliant! This tape bridges the parent/kid gap."
Reviewer: A reader from Minnesota June 12, 1998
"I knew we were on to a treasure the moment I popped the Rhinoceros Tap audiocasette into my car tape deck. My three year old daughter's favorite song is "Bad Babies" . . . I vacillate between "Tropical Sand" and the heavily syncopated "Perfect Piggies." From ballads to barn dances, Boynton and Co. take you on a rollicking ride past Gilbert & Sullivan-like shanties, reggae rhapsodies, and a tap dance with doable progressions. If you get nervous when you're driving behind somebody who is on their cell phone, you ain't seen nothin' yet! You'll be dancing and tapping the accelerator. This is a class act."
***** "This book and audiotape are my 5 yr. old's favorite."
Reviewer: A reader from Irvine,California,USA April 22, 1998
"Both my daughter and I enjoy the songs and content of this book/tape. She reads the book along with the tape and announces the next songs title before it begins. It encourages reading, singing, dancing and fun with your children."
***** "Creative, fun, well worth purchase."
Reviewer: A reader from Germany March 10, 1998
"This book and accompanying audio cassette is filled with creative, upbeat songs. Listed for ages 4-8, my two year old was still delighted with the tunes about tickling and peas left on the dinnerplate. Fun for wriggling, giggling, dancing or just listening."
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Here's what people are saying about
"Grunt - Pigorian Chant
from Snouto Domoinko de Silo"
Editorial Reviews:
GRUNT is a good-natured satirical response to the Gregorian Chant phenomenon. The compact disc-sized, full-color illustrated book details the origins of Pigorian Chant, and gives the entire text and translation of the accompanying forty-minute CD--from the Chant of Repose (Ore-snay, ore-snay: "Snore, Snore") to the Chant of Sublime Anticipation (Op-slay, Ime-tay: "Slop Time"). The beautiful recording, performed by past members of the Yale Glee Club and conducted by Emeritus Director Fenno Heath, is indistinguishable from authentic plain chant and polyphony, unless you listen closely.
Amazon.com
"Tempus porco nihil est," or, "Time to a pig means zilch," according to Grunt: Pigorian Chant from Snouto Domoinko de Silo, a very funny takeoff on the Gregorian chant craze by Sandra Boynton, the author of Chocolate: The Consuming Passion and other droll volumes. This amusing little book, complete with a well-sung 40-minute compact disc by the Ad Hog Camerata, is a note-perfect send-up of chant and the hype that surrounds it. At the same time, the book presents the musical chronicle of a day in the life of one seriously pretentious farm. Boynton's pictures--from the cover to the "illuminations"--are a delight. The cows speak for record company executives everywhere when they intone, "Non plaudite. Modo pecuniam jacite." (Don't applaud, just throw money.) This would make a perfect gift for a musical friend, and if no one gets it for you, you'd be well justified in buying it for yourself for a quick pick-me-up or chant overdose antidote.
The Washington Post
Inevitably, the craze for Gregorian Chant in the past few years had to provoke a backlash; the only question was when and in what form it would arrive. One answer is a book titled "Grunt." Its front cover has a cartoon of four pigs, holding candles, looking reverent and floating against a sky-blue background with fleecy clouds-a visual echo of the cover on a best-selling disc by the Benedictine monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, who stated the craze. Inside the cover is a compact disc of "Pigorian Chant" performed by the "Ad Hog Camerata." The music sounds like authentic Gregorian chant, and the singing-under the direction of two well-credentialed directors-is quite good. Some of the texts are in authentic (though not liturgical) Latin, for example: "Ecce Macdonaldus senex, qui fundum habet" (Behold Old MacDonald, who has a farm"). Others are in pig Latin-for example, "Y-whay are-ay e-way ere-hay?" E way are-ay ere-hay o-taying-say ad nauseam." Sophomoric? Of course, but also occasionally cute. And, we might add, sui generis.
Hilarious! August 25, 1999
Reviewer: [email protected] from Houston, Texas
This is one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time. If you just listen to the music, you'd be fooled into thinking this is real Gregorian chant. But if you listen carefully or if you take a peek at the lyrics in the illustrated booklet, you're in for a real treat! This is wonderful satire of the Gregorian chanting phenomenon. Would make a great gift for Latin scholars!
Thoroughly enjoyable fun--haunting music with droll humor March 11, 1999
Reviewer: Dale Myers ([email protected]) from Boston, Massachusetts
This is Gregorian chant done in Pig Latin. The text is light-hearted. It is funny in parts, a spoof as it were, but done with full respect both to the musical form and to the language. The conceit does grow thin before the end of the work, but the music itself is good enough to warrant it being a full-length piece. (The music is good enough, that is, provided that you appreciate the chant form. If you need a beat or at least a meter in your music, than don't bother with GRUNT. Have a chuckle at the idea of doing a monastic-style chant in Pig Latin, then move on without ordering this CD.)
Current and former singing Yalies everywhere will like this. February 28, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Oconee County, South Carolina
I'm glad Fenno has found something rewarding to do since his retirement from the Glee Club!
Funny! February 19, 1999
Reviewer: A reader from Mt.Pleasant, South Carolina
This book is extremely funny especially if you know Latin. Being a Latin student I thought it was very funny and enjoyed the CD very much. I reccomend this book and listening to the CD because with the CD you can't even tell that they're singing Old McDonald or other stuff.(monks ar singing) Also, the pigs in the story talk in Pig Latin which adds humor.
PoInGant. A masterpiece of misplaced erudition December 25, 1998
Reviewer: [email protected] from Orange County, California, USA
Anyone with a classical degree, proficiency in early American schoolyard slang, a musical heritage and a sense of humor will revel in this work of breadth and brilliance. Highly recommended to the overeducated eccentric. The CD should be played as background music at your next party. Those who notice and comment are to be cultivated as friends worthy of greater interest.
Outstanding in its field! September 1, 1998
Reviewer: [email protected] from Lanham, MD
A friend shared her book/CD with me, and I immediately had to get my own copy and buy another to use as a gift. Especially funny for those in agricultural careers ... not all of us are country/western fans, and it's hard to find classical agricultural music!
Witty and musically sophisticated parody of Gregorian chants $ June 11, 1998
Reviewer: A reader from Massachusetts
Remember the album Chant, that came out a few years ago?Have you seen all the sequels and me-too Gregorian chant albums? Well here's the best one. Sandra Boynton, of chocaholic fame, has put together a witty and musically delightful parody of these records and of the style itself. The chanting is done by highly trained voices which this reviewer could not tell from those on the serious chanting albums. If anything, these were better. Meanwhile, you are being treated to the philosophical musings of barnyard animals--also in a secluded but communal setting, just like the monks. The farm has its daily rituals and musical time-noticing ceremonies, which the animals sing about in beautiful ways. Meanwhile, their words are howlers. Buy this along with a chant recording, and see which one YOU like better.
Quality Music with quality humor July 16, 1997
Reviewer: A reader
As others have noted, this book gets most of its humor value from the parody of the current trendy "Gregorian Chant for new age yuppies" albums, but the underlying concept is fun for anybody who knows a little Latin, grew up Catholic, or just likes erudite barnyard animals. And, unlike the P.D.Q. Bach works, no real knowledge of classical music is needed to appreciate much of the humor here. The real prize in this package is not the book, but the CD. This is good-quality music done by real musicians, who don't let the humorous content of the chant distract them from their skills. The text, where the pigs sing Pig Latin while the other animals sing Latin, is full of Latin translations of English idiom, and the snide comments of the chickens, delivered by angelic, ethereal female voices, win out-loud laughter from everyone for whom I've played the disc
High concept joke June 26, 1997
Reviewer: A reader
Best sprung on a friend who is (a) a Latin scholar, (b) a medievilist, or (c) a Gregorian fanatic - preferably all three. Would have been better if so much of the first song wasn't in pig-Latin. (Your unsuspecting victim will never believe that repetitive OR-SNAY-ing is real Latin). And the album drags on a bit too long. But I'd love to walk into my favorite pseudo-pretentious book store and hear this over the sound system
Funniest for Latinophiles April 8, 1997
Reviewer: A reader
If (1) you know a little Latin, or (2) you perform or study medieval or church music, and (3) you are at least slightly familiar with "Chant," the flavor-of-the-moment album with the floating monks on the cover, purporting to introduce Gregorian chant to the New Age/pop listener, you'll find "Grunt" funny for the first or second reading. The accompanying CD is less funny. It's strictly chant throughout. Some musical humor would have helped a lot. When the animals sing the Latin version of "Old McDonald," complete with E-I-E-I-O's, wouldn't you hope to hear a strain of that tune? Nope, it's all chant. A little of this goes a long way. When "Chant" fades from the charts, much of "Grunt"s parody will be lost. It's still a clever lampoon of over-reverent recording scholarship, with cute animal illustrations.
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