No!

Review

Common Sense Media says

Both educational music and magical mystery tour.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

AGE
2
QUALITY
 

Kids say

Not yet rated

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that although these songs entertain children as young as a year, some teens also enjoy both the music and controlling the animation on tracks like "Clap Your Hands" and "The Edison Museum."

  • Positive messages0
    Although it's all in fun, occasional misbehavior goes uncorrected. The animations to "I Am A Grocery Bag" urge viewers to play with their food and spill it (and with a click of the mouse they can do so.)
  • Violence0
    There are no violent images, but sensitive children may be disturbed by descriptions in "The Edison Museum" ("Its haunted towers rise into the clouds above it/ ?Ghosts float up the stares like silent moving pictures").
  • Sex0
    There are no sexual references.
  • Language0
    The language is clean. Songs like "Fibber Island" ("wheels are square not round") may puzzle or delight youngsters, depending on their taste for nonsense.
  • Consumerism0
    There are no references to brand names.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking0
    There are no references to drugs or alcohol, but the band's depiction of the everyday in songs like "I Am A Grocery Bag" may strike some as surreal.
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What's the story?

Slide NO! into your computer and prepare to be amazed by They Might Be Giants' zany creativity. Brilliantly colored images dot the screen, dancing or exploding at the click of a mouse and illustrating nonsense lyrics reminiscent of Edward Lear. To the beat of folky rock guitar, keyboards, drum, and bass, budding readers can sing along and see the words at the same time. "I Am Not Your Broom" involves a conversation between John and his broom, in which the broom declares, "I'm throwing off my chains of servitude." "Wake Up Call" consists of nothing but the syllables bo, do, ba, and baw, but on their computers, kids can set animated clocks to the time signaled by dancing roosters.

Is it any good?

 

Is this educational children's music or a magical mystery tour? They Might Be Giants have given us a combination in this album, and most of the time it works. Adults who are not already TMBG fans may be won over; others may find the songs too pointless or even mildly subversive. But children delight in them, and older siblings get a kick out of the animations set to music, too.

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What families can talk about

Families can talk about how different age groups can get different things out of this music.

This review was written by Cynthea Riesenberg
Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
 
They are great
TMBG are a great band. You can't tell if they are singing adult music or infant music. Like the Beatles, they can appeal to anyone with an open mind for good music.
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
 
We love TMBG
I've been a TMBG fan for a long time, so I was very pleased to find out they now make music for kids. I was hesitant when I bought "Here come the ABC's". My 4 yr old son has been such a big fan of elmo, I didn't think he would make the switch. Now all we listen to every day is TMBG. He loved it so much I bought "No!". He loves this one too! I especially like their use of vocabulary that doesn't talk down to kids. I often find myself listening to this CD long after I've dropped my son off at pre-school.
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Helped me decide (1) | Had useful details (3) | Read my mind (2)
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Parent of 2 year old
November 19, 2009
AGE
2
 
Was this review useful?
Helped me decide (1) | Had useful details (2) | Read my mind (1)
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Kid, 12 years old
January 12, 2010
AGE
2
 
great music!!!
Its funny and for all ages!
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Helped me decide (1) | Had useful details | Read my mind (2)
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This review was written by Cynthea Riesenberg
Artist:They Might Be Giants
Release date:June 11, 2002
Label:Rounder
Genre:Children's Music
Parental advisory:No
This review was written by Cynthea Riesenberg
 

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About our rating system
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.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.
Our child development rating guidelines

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