Product Review and Giveaway: La Bella Stella Educational Song CD

My children have a special spot in their hearts for CD songs and stories.  Without a TV in the house, my children turn to other sources of amusement which often includes music.  They love to sing and dance, and so they were eager to listen to a new music CD. 

La Bella Stella is an educational song CD from the "Celebrate Earth Music Series".  The songs are mostly space-themed, including the stars, planets and galaxy.  A few, including Nature's Lullaby, Nocturnal, Safe at Home and So Long To The Day are more earth-themed.  La Bella Stella is the fifth CD to be released in the Celebrate Earth series. Recess Music is "dedicated to entertaining, encouraging, and educating children and families about our magnificent green planet through Earth-friendly music." 

The songs are sung in different genres and by different singers. From the foot-stomping beat of Nature's Lullaby to the soft rhythm of Man in the Moon, the songs seek to both entertain and teach children about our beautiful, grand earth.

This review/giveaway is running in conjunction with the upcoming release of La Bella Stella, March 27th, just in time for Earth Day 2012. 

Quick Rating: 3.5/4

Child Appeal: 3.5/4

My 5 year old daughter turned the songs on and immediately started dancing.  Part way through the songs, though, she stopped, stood still and listened.  Then the questions started.  "What is a galaxy mom?"  "How do they put a man on the moon?" 

The music, in my opinion, could be enjoyed from a young age to probably age 7, but appealed most to my 5 year old daughter.  The packaging is bright and colourful, which appealed immediately to my children.

Parent Appeal: 3/4
The songs are well-sung, catchy and educational.  The earthy-feel of the songs attracted me to them.  The songs include planets, birds and bees, baby otters, owls, and fawns.  I especially enjoyed listening to Nature's Lullaby. 

Eco Appeal: 4/4
This section is important to us, being a green living blog.  The CD is packaged minimally with a cardboard case over a plastic CD holder.  It was shipped simply in a padded envelope as would be expected.  A portion of the proceeds of the sale of this CD will go to the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, an air and space science centre located in Concord, NH. 

Functionality: 4
The CD is high quality, the packaging is appropriate and the age group suggested (4-11) is more or less appropriate, although I would suggest more to the 4-7 age group. 

Overall, I would give this CD a 3.5 out of 4.  I would definitely buy it for my children to listen to.  The music is cheerful and educational, the themes are good, and it satisfied my eco-tooth with charitable donations based on sales, and acceptable packaging. 

Win This CD:
If you would like an opportunity to win this CD please visit the Recess Music website and leave a comment at the bottom of this review about something you learned there, or which CD you'd be interested in listening to. http://recessmusic.com.  All comments that are not related to the Recess Music website will be disqualified.  Contest is open to USA and Canada residents only.

Contest Deadlines:
The winner will be drawn based on a number selected by random.org, at 9 pm PST on March 15th, 2012.  The winner will be announced on this blog within 24 hours of the contest ending.  I will announce that a winner has been selected on facebook and twitter.  If the winner does not contact me within 24 hours I will select another winner. 

CONTEST IN NOW CLOSED.  WINNER HAS BEEN SELECTED AND CAN BE FOUND IN THE COMMENTS BELOW.

Disclaimer:
I was approached by Recess Music and offered this CD to review for free.  Nonetheless, the opinions stated in the above article are my own. 

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