May the 4th Be With You!

Happy May the 4th! Designated as the official Star Wars Day back in 2011, fans around the world celebrate this date by showing their love for this pop culture cornerstone.  My husband and I are fans because we are of an age that we remember what life was like for kids during the original trilogy’s debut in the 1970s and early 80s. In fact, just this past December, my husband unearthed his original action figures and Death Star and I found my full size Princess Leia doll. Still fans at heart, we also attended Star Wars Celebration in Chicago just a couple of weeks ago where we had our picture taken with the ever suave Billy Dee Williams and had a blast taking in all of the costumes and life size models. 

    

The very next day, I heard a Star Wars-themed song on Kids Place Live which led me to do some digging into children’s songs that would appeal to young Star Wars fans. Here are some of my favorites, what are yours?

Why is Dad So Mad?” by Board of Education
“Oh, Lando” and “Chewy to Your Han” by Recess Monkey
Yodeling Yoda” by Jack Forman

 

 

 

Songs from the Monkey House Performed by Jack Forman

Jack Forman, of Recess Monkey fame, strikes out on his own with his debut solo album, Songs From the Monkey House. If you’ve ever listened to Jack’s weekday show “Live From the Monkey House” on Sirius XM’s Kids Place Live you know that his show is high-energy and filled with conversations between Jack and kids from across the country. It is questions from his listeners as well as from Recess Monkey fans and his own family that are the basis for the twelve high octane songs on this album.

 

Each song is filled with clever lyrics that cover a wide array of topics from the variety of cheeses one may encounter in life, including an ode to that stinky ole blue cheese, to a dog’s point of view at the dog park, to the meaning of the phrase, “I lost my lunch.” Many of the songs are multilayered and provide levels of fun for kids and adults alike. Older kids and grown-ups will especially enjoy “Yodeling Yoda” a fantastic love song to Star Wars, “Candy Tour” which retells the tale of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and “No Name” about a band with plans to make it big until they name themselves Minecraft and receive a cease and desist letter. Jack Forman wrote, provided all the vocals, played all the instruments, and produced and engineered this entire album, proving that he really is a one man powerhouse. Forman’s debut album is a hoot to listen to and one that families with kids of all ages will return to again and again.