The Orange Band -
First Day of School 
It's hard to say anything bad about a children's CD. There is a certain respect to be had for men and women who are willing to focus on the musical needs of the youngest generation. Sure, our kids could be listening to Hendrix or Beethoven, but wouldn't it be great if they were learning to count by tens at the same time?
Personally, my all-time favorite children's song (and I don't have kids) is "Five Little Monkeys Jumpin' on the Bed"-David Jack's version. I never realized kid's music could so get funky. Entertaining, or just amusing, the parent as well as the child is key to producing popular children's music. Timmy Wells and Karl "Spool" Stiegmann solve this by employing various musical styles from the last 30 years (rock, reggae, country) and singing lyrics that encourage and educate younger ears. Most of the songs on The First Day of School are aimed at the school-aged child (4+), and they are all originals. "Don't Fight," "Eight Keys (to a Better Me)" and "With the Right Attitude" encourage positive attitudes and reinforce correct behavior. "Rock 'n' Roll Bunny" is just a fun rock tune sure to rile your youngster into a dance frenzy. There are a few holiday songs included here as well. Christmas, Halloween and Thanksgiving are all covered, though "Turkey Day" makes me feel a little uneasy as the singer tells the turkey, "I'm glad that I'm not you.""
The track list is accurate, and although most of the lyrics are listed, some
are not, and others are out of order. This may confuse young listeners who are
also readers and like to follow along.
A major plus is the backing, and sometimes lead, vocals sung by the children themselves. I like the way this ends up sounding like a sing-a-long and encourages children to do just that. So, now that the review is written, and I've driven my fiancé crazy with sudden outbursts like, "Don't fight! there are other ways to handle it" " I'm going to pass this along to my friend's 17-month-old and get a true expert's opinion.