I'm an Optimist

I’m an Optimist. Performed by Dog on Fleas. CD. Approx. 34 min. Produced by Dean Jones. 2019. CD: $5.99; Digital: $9.99.

Grades 1 – 5

This album has the feel of a half-hour jam session with Dean Jones, John Hughes and Chris Cullo, the Dog on Fleas band. Grammy Award winner Dean Jones has also produced albums for many well-known kindie artists, including Frances England, the Okee Dokee Brothers, Red Yarn, Elizabeth Mitchell, and many others. These 12 quirky songs, performed in several varieties of rock, have odd lyrics and lots of sound FX. The trio and guest musician are extremely proficient on guitar, bass, saxophone, trombone, drums and percussion. With a “Can Do Attitude,” one can change the world, change a diaper, peel a potato, and accomplish many other things. Is there a “Doppelgänger” out there who looks just like you? “Oh Lazy Me” is liked much more than the uptight version. In this piece, which is partly spoken and partly sung, the narrator tells how he planned to build a treehouse, when he encountered “A Little Hiccup:” he forgot the nails. “It’s a Miracle” that an airplane can fly, that an apple tree comes from a seed, and that heads don’t pop off when a person sneezes. In a world of grumpy, I “Wanna Be” a smiler; in a world of bears, I wanna be a park ranger; and in a world of careful, I wanna little danger. Spoken and sung, “Word Association” features children playing the game and coming up with associations such as mind/brain, head/heart, whale/ocean and more. In “I’m an Optimist,” the narrator prefers to feed his optimist side rather than his pessimist side. The other songs include “Sting Along,” “Village d’Etoiles,” “Sunny Day Song,” and “Did You See That Squirrel?” These humorous songs will tickle the funny bones of young listeners.

Website: https://www.dogonfleas.com/