***Michael Charles Smith***

Now, this is not your typical kiddie album! Michael Charles Smith is a marimba master based in Portland, OR, and he's created an instrumental concept album designed to be the soundtrack to an imaginary picture book. Melodies for Wooden Children is a series of 20 original marimba-only tunes that, along with Micalah Wilson's album art, "tell" the story of Noni, Babo, and Ani's adventures in a land of make-believe.

Song titles like "Noni and the Tickle Bugs," "Dark Water Mapping," "Nyht the Fire Fairy Queen," and "Re-inventing the Spirits of Good and Evil" are meant to spark the imaginations of children, as well as introduce them to the sounds and nuances of the marimba. Plunk this one down on the turntable and have your little ones draw their own musically-inspired pictures.