Album Spotlight – “Levity Beet and the Aotearoa All Stars”
As New Zealand Music Month wraps up, I’d like to turn our attention to the southern hemisphere and the latest outing from Levity Beet. Levity Beet and the Aotearoa All Stars, the first album from Levity’s new label “Wildbeet Records,” is chock full of New Zealand notables and features collaborations with 12 different writers/performers/producers from New Zealand’s rich family music industry. Special guests include familiar names like Itty Bitty Beats, Music with Michal, and Claudia Robin Gunn as well as names that might be new to American audiences such as Suzy Cato, Craig Smith, fleaBITE, Kath Bee, Judy Cranston, Chris Sanders, Mr. Roberelli, MLO, and Loopy Tunes.
When Levity Beet and the collaborators met to write the 12 tracks on this album, they used the broad concept of things that they remembered really loving as children. With that idea as their guide they created a collection of songs that emphasize play, imagination, silliness, and unbridled joy. Many of the tunes feature interactive elements such the made for storytime track “Funny Little Bunny,” “Jump,” the perfect summer song, and “One Baby Burger Cook” a jump roping chant. Additional songs like “Let’s Build This Home” encourages playing pretend and “Silly Sausage” is, well, just plain silly. Levity Beet and the Aotearoa All Stars hits all the right notes and will have listeners seeking out more music from everyone featured. Adorable animated lyric videos are available on Levity Beet’s YouTube channel.
It’s that time of year again. The countdown to the last day of school is on – for the students and the teachers. Parents are looking for goodbye gifts for their children to give to their favorite teachers (everyone needs another mug, right?) and kids are making special cards filled with precious sentiments. To celebrate the gift that is teachers, consider sharing this wonderful new song of gratitude from the dynamic duo 
The picture book Why Do We Sing? is written by Tsui and Breves with illustrations by Tsui. All of the ways that the album answers the question why do we sing (and more!) are depicted in the words and the pictures of the story. As with the soundtrack, the digital illustrations reflect a diverse array of characters and cultures. The pacing of the story and the color palette – steeped in blues and purples with pops of pastels, make Why Do We Sing? a versatile book that can be read with great gusto and excitement during storytime, or a little slower and quieter just before bed.