| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that, like all Sesame Street CDs, this one teaches while entertaining. For example, there are several counting tunes and an excellent song about the different bones ("so many you can't count them") in the body.
Sesame Street knows skeletons need not be scary. ELMO SAYS BOO! offers a friendly alternative to Halloween creepiness, replacing horror with comedy and fear with fun. Some songs include characters that make kids laugh, like "Frazzle" who only says "Argh!" -- meaning, yes, no, thank you, maybe, and that he's happy, sad, etc. Other songs are designed for dancing and games, like "Roll That Pumpkin Down to Town." The three best tracks -- "Transylvania 1-2-3-4-5," which hearkens back to the Big Band Era, "Bones (Inside of You)," and "The Batty Bat" -- all feature the Count at his Transylvanian best.
Parents are sure to appreciate the gentleness of this Halloween album, although the endless monster songs could become tiresome. This is not true for the kids, though. While the album provides the perfect background for visiting trick-or-treaters, your kids will likely want to hear it all year long.
Families can talk about self-acceptance and tolerance of others, an important message in some of the monster songs. We are gently reminded that monsters are "hairy but not scary and want to be your friend." You can also locate the bones of the body as the song identifies them.
| Artist: | Sesame Street |
| Release date: | September 1, 1998 |
| Label: | Sony Music |
| Genre: | Children's Music |
| Parental advisory: | No |