This collection of stories came into being because there are stories my children and I tell around the kitchen table, but I don’t use them in performances. My children would occasionally ask me if I was ever going to record those stories and I would say, “We’ll have to see.” In early 2003, I began to consider making such a collection and letting my children take their favorite parts, but I wasn’t sure what we would call it or what it would be like to record what is essentially private time I spend with my kids. then , I heard my son’s third grade class sing for their parents for the first time and all the thoughts I had about this project fell into place. Listening to them sing not only helped me understand what was driving me to make this collection, but also why I wanted my children’s voices on the recording. For me, this collection is a precious drop of the pure joy kids have when they sing with carefree abandon or gleefully share stories with their parents. I wanted to stop time for one brief moment and capture all of the magic that pours freely out of your children so I could have it again and again. In the echoes of their voices I can hear Angel’s Laughter.
I could not have asked for a more enthusiastic group of co-conspirators and I than Miss Sarah, the parents of her students and Central Park School for Children for loaning them to us for this project.
The stories and songs featured in this collection are:
“Play With Me Mommy” – 1:39
“Mr. Moon” – 1:05
“Bastianello” – 14:37
“Toomba” – 1:28
“The Prince and the Soccer Ball” – 6:11
“Sage Water” – 0:57
“Boo Stew” – 11:13
“My Paddle / Land of the Silver Birch” – 1:46
“Tipingee” – 12:39
“Headstrong Horses” – 0:29
“Three Princes Riding” – 14:47
“Hey Ho” – 0:39
“Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree” – 0:39
“Angel’s Laughter” – 0:11
Total Length – 1:07:15
Each of these digital recordings can be downloaded three times.