Holiday and Everyday Songs received the Parents' Choice Gold Award and and All Star Rating from the Coalition for Quality Children's Media. This is a collection of songs about holidays throughout the year combined with songs about special things that happen every day. A wide variety of musical styles from the joyful mariachi trumpets of "Cinco de Mayo," to the spooky sounds of "Halloween Hike" celebrate holidays for every season. On Martin Luther King Day, lift your voices together to show "We Have A Dream." Let the drums and cymbals inspire your dragon dance as you sing "Xin Nian Kuai Le" to say Happy New Year in Chinese. Share a gentle message of friendship and caring with the "Valentine’s Song." Birthdays are made extra special with the "Birthday Medley" of four cheerful songs. You can choose one or do them all! Celebrate 4th of July with a blending of two classic American music styles – bluegrass and Dixieland jazz in "Happy Birthday USA." Liven up any party with a spirited game of tag as the little mice "Scamper" away from the hungry cat! Sing and dance with the Halloween classic "Witches’ Brew," then clap and laugh with "A Turkey Tale" and cheer the feisty turkey as it evades the farmer on Thanksgiving Day. As the days grow shorter, celebrate winter solstice and Christmas with the "Sheltering Evergreen Tree;" then sing the song again in the spring for Arbor Day. Every day is a day to be thankful for "Food" in its many healthy varieties, and to wake up with the animals in "Morning Time At The Zoo." Imagine a more harmonious world on the International Day of Peace as you sing "Ki Va Moed," to say, now is the time! On Earth Day, or any day, marvel at the miracle of life with "Nature’s Sweet Endless Song" and when you take time to notice seemingly ordinary things you realize the central theme of this album, "Every Day’s A Special Day!" Songs by Holiday and Special Day We Have A Dream Martin Luther King Birthday Turkey Tale Thanksgiving Valentine’s Song Valentines Day Halloween Hike Halloween Happy Birthday USA Fourth of July Nature’s Sweet Endless Song Every Day / Earth Day Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo Scamper Every Day/ Halloween Food Every Day/ Thanksgiving Morning Time At The Zoo Every Day / Animal Rights Day Birthday Medley Birthdays for Family and Friends Xin Nian Kwai Le Chinese New Year Sheltering Evergreen Tree Christmas*/ Winter Solstice/ Arbor Day Ki Va Moed International Day of Peace Witches’ Brew Halloween Every Day’s A Special Day Every Day *More songs for Christmas as well as Thanksgiving and Chanukah are available from the recording, “Hap Palmer’s Holiday Magic.” Instrumental versions of all the songs are available for digital download from iTunes, CD Baby, and our web site www.happalmer.com. After you learn the words to a song, you can sing along hearing only the music. The instrumental version includes the complete track minus the vocals. A soft piano melody to guide the singer(s) is added. The instrumental versions are ideal for accompanying groups in holiday assemblies and concert performances. - REVIEWS - From Parents' Choice: Parents' Choice Gold Award! The field of music for young children has grown significantly over the 20-plus years since Hap Palmer began recording his educational, music-and-movement-based albums. But this notable singer/songwriter, multiple instrumentalist, and early childhood expert is still at the top of his game, and the proof is this exceptional album. Here, mellow-voiced Palmer isn't using his notable talents to draw young listeners into an understanding of phonics, math basics, shapes and colors and other educational concepts; instead, he has turned real life-inspired moments ("Morning Time at the Zoo," "Scamper," "Food") and all manner of holidays (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Thanksgiving, Cinco de Mayo, Valentine's Day, Chinese New Year, Halloween), into musical gold, rich with varied rhythms, resonant lyrics, and inspired melodies and harmonic layers. The album ends with soft instrumental tracks of each song for individual or group singing. A pleasure for ears of all ages. Lynne Heffley ©2016 Parents' Choice From Midwest Book Review: Holiday and Everyday Songs is an eclectic music CD for all ages by popular performer Hap Palmer. The songs give tribute to a wide variety of holidays, (although a birthday medley of four songs is specifically about the joy of celebrating one's birthday.) Playful and exuberant, Holiday and Everyday Songs is pure fun, and comes with a free downloadable teaching guide from the website www.happalmer.com, featuring lyrics, activities, and photos. The tracks are, We Have A Dream, Turkey Tale, Valentine's Song, Halloween Hike, Happy Birthday U.S.A., Nature's Sweet Endless Song, Cinco de Mayo, Scamper, Food, Morning Time at the Zoo, Put Another Candle On Your Cake, Out The Candles Go, Celebrate The Day, Birthday Boogie, Xin Nian Kuai Le, Sheltering Evergreen Tree, Ki Va Moed, Witches' Brew, Every Day's A Special Day, plus instrumental tracks of almost every song. Highly recommended! Kids First! Endorsement and All Star Rating from Coalition for Quality Children’s Media Kids Critics Say: Hap Palmer Holiday and Everyday Songs is fun to listen to. We like the music and the singing. The singing is not like other songs. The songs have expression and feelings. We especially like the song Witches' Brew. The words are so fun and it's catchy. That song gets stuck in your head all day. We love it! It's our favorite. We also like the song Scamper a lot. We think other kids would like this CD because it's really fun! Adult Critics Say: At last count Hap Palmer has written over a million songs - most people will be too lazy to fact check that fact. It's an election year. I elect Mr. Palmer to the Kids Music Hall of Fame alongside Mister Rogers another bastion of children's rights even when they're wrong sometime and need a hug and a cup of musical cocoa. 'Holiday and Everyday Songs' is a 19-song extravaganza of musical styles and feel good candy kisses that will have mom and dad dancing in Neolithic ways and kids downright digging the tunes and sharing and learning different cultural celebrations and appreciations. This album is memorable! Reviewed by John Wood, KIDS FIRST! Music Judge.