I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical when someone gave us this CD a few years back. I enjoy the VeggieTale shows, but had not heard any of the music, and I expected it to be somewhat like listening to Alvin and the Chipmunks - cute but eventually annoying. It may be that this is a particularly special case. I still haven't listened to any other VeggieTale CDs, but I actually enjoy this one a lot. The other day when my youngest daughter asked to listen to some music I voluntarily put on this CD. Really.Part of the reason I like it is because the songs are ostensibly lullabies. The music is all really mellow and it shows when the kids listen to it. My children will dance to just about anything even remotely upbeat. (I am always fascinated by this since neither their father nor their mother enjoy dancing - we didn't even dance at our wedding. But I digress...) With the Veggies serenading us my children will play quietly and listen more closely to the songs they are most familiar with. When I find something that helps maintain a calm mood around our house, I like it!
I also like the selection of songs. Some of them are just classic lullabies, like Rock a Bye Baby, Brahm's Lullaby and All the Pretty Little Horses (my favorite!) However they've also included several "old" hymns like For the Beauty of the Earth, This is My Father's World, and Morning Has Broken. If you can get past the fact that you're listening to a singing tomato, or cucumber, or asparagus (which isn't too hard) there are even some pretty nice harmonies. There are some humorous verbal side notes and some really beautiful verses added to the classics.
After all of the songs play with lyrics there are "split-tracks" with just the instrumental versions. These, of course, are even more calming than the vocal versions.
In all it is a more refreshing and enjoyable musical experience than I could have imagined. Someday I hope it will be our entrance point to the movies which so far have been too complicated for my oldest daughter to understand. I think maybe I'll dig out the Christmas show soon and see if she gets it this year...
