Reviewed by Ian Hayter

Wonder Kids is the brainchild of Nashville writer and producer Stephen Elkins. Along with a staff of educators, teachers and parents, he's put together a CD of 20 well-loved children's favourites, from "Jesus Loves Me" to "People On The Bus (All Praise The Lord)". They're sung by kids, accompanied by some pretty basic programmed music in a fairly jolly style. So far, nothing really different from hundreds of other toddler-aimed compilations. But on this album each of the 20 songs is preceded by a short (usually well under a minute) and very succinct re-telling of a Bible story relating to the song, with some (very!) basic sound effects. So, "I'm In The Lord's Army" is paired with the story of Rahab and the two spies, and the story of Jesus teaching from a boat leads into "Michael, Row The Boat Ashore". It's a great idea. The songs are easy to sing along to and the stories are short enough to grab the attention. The only drawback - at least for British listeners - is the syrupy and patronising tone of the story teller, coupled with the formulaic and lifeless delivery of the Wonder Kids choir. On the whole, though, it might be worth sitting the little darlings in front of the hi-fi for a few minutes of this every now and then.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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