"Take Me To Your Library"
Monty Harper
Enhanced CD

CD - $14.99

Read Fred's review in...

1. Take Me to Your Library
Meet a new friend from beyond.
2. Blast Into Books
Sci Fi is great on TV but even better in books!
3. Roundy Round
A song about planetary motion - Winner of a 2001 CMW Award.
4. Magical Madcap Tour
A whimsical tour of the continents.
5. Howdy Song
Greetings in many languages.
6. Big World After All
A celebration of cultural diversity.
7. Grandma's House Tonight
A very wacky road trip.
8. Tropeo the Pirate
What does a ruthless pirate do with two runaway kids?
9. Out on the Beach
Family fun in the sand and sun.
10. Books, Ahoy!
Sail away aboard three great books.
11. Diving in the Deep Blue Sea
An underwater adventure.

Contact:
Beth Blenz-Clucas
503-293-9498
blenzb@aol.com

MONTY HARPER LAUNCHES OUT-OF-THIS WORLD 'TAKE ME TO YOUR LIBRARY'
New CD Features Wacky, Witty, Way-Out Songs Kids Love Along with Bonus CD Features for Computer Fun

Stillwater, OK - Some of the planet's most far-out music is beaming your way from Oklahoma as Monty Harper, an award-winning recording artist, releases his new CD Take Me To Your Library. Monty's 11 hip and original songs provide kids and parents with a galaxy full of musical interactive fun - and they just might encourage families to make the voyage over to their local library. Chicago Parent magazine calls it "great new music to share with your children."

Take Me To Your Library is an enhanced CD with bonus features that include a concert video, full printable lyrics, guitar chords, alternate versions of six songs and nine bonus songs, accessible from any computer with a CD-Rom drive.

Monty's musical style is alternative folk-rock, incorporating influences ranging from the Beach Boys to the English sea shanty, with a freshness that makes repeated listening fun for the whole family. The multi-instrumentalist performs on electric and acoustic guitar, concertina, kazoo and various percussion instruments.

The songs on Take Me To Your Library travel by air, land and sea to destinations near and far. From the first track, listeners will enter strange and wonderful new places. When an alien lands on Monty's front porch, he learns that "Pobbalagga bigga bogga zibby zabba zoo" means that this five-armed guy just wants to check out books at the library. After a "Blast into Books," it's a "Magical Madcap Tour" of the continents with the help of books, and it's fun to learn how to say a friendly greeting in many languages with the "Howdy Song." It is a "Big World after All," as the song suggests, but sometimes it's best just to go to "Grandma's House Tonight" The enhanced CD includes a special video to go along with this song, including participatory movements based on American Sign Language. Monty's song "Roundy Round" is a tribute to planetary motion - and kids and parents around the country voted it as one of the best songs of the year in the recent Children's Music Web Awards at www.childrensmusic.org.

One of the tracks from the new CD, the "Howdy Song," was recently selected to be part of a compilation put together by Arts for Autism to help raise awareness about this puzzling disorder. The compilation CD contains ten songs by various artists and is available at www.PlayhouseRadio.com.

Monty performs regularly for children and families, and he draws most of his inspiration from his audiences. "Kids are very expressive - I can watch their faces while I sing and gauge line-by-line how well I've got their attention. What keeps them interested is humor, a good story, and participation." Just as in his live performances, he invites sing-along participation in every tune on Take Me To Your Library.

Monty has two other recordings of original songs for kids: Imagine That and Jungle Junk. He also writes and records music for clients such as the Oklahoma Department of Libraries. Take Me To Your Library is available at a suggested retail price of $14.99. For more information on Harper and his music visit www.montyharper.com.

Family Fun Magazine
"Outer-space aliens, deep-sea pirates, and the joy of reading all take center stage in this latest kids' offering from engaging Oklahoman Monty Harper. With an endearing voice and driving guitars, Harper touts the fun of books, the thrill of world cultures, and the enduring allure of wily buccaneers in this thoroughly absorbing disk."

- Moira McCormick

School Library Journal (excerpt)
PreS-Gr4 -- "Oklahoma native Monty Harper has written and composed this energetic album of 11 songs. He does an excellent job of performing all the lead vocals and playing all the instruments. A chorus of children joins him on several of the songs. Four of the songs celebrate libraries and reading. Monty Harper's music deserves to be heard beyond the boarders of Oklahoma."

- Beverly Bixler, San Antonio Public Library, TX

Midwest Book Review
"Monty Harper's Take Me To Your Library is a superbly presented, lively performed, original and altogether kids pleasing collection of songs about reading, libraries, and traveling by space, land and sea. Especially recommended for school and community library CD music collections for children."

Booklist (excerpt)
K-Gr. 3 -- "Monty Harper takes kids on a trip around the world as he introduces language (how to say hello in several foreign languages), geography (characteristics of the continents), diversity ("Big World after All"), astronomy ("Roundy Round"), and oceanography ("Diving in the Deep Blue Sea") in this collection of 11 original songs. For good measure, he throws in a sentimental pirate tale and a couple of stories about family trips. Imagination rules, and Harper is evangelistic in promoting public libraries to kids and curious aliens alike. Acoustic guitar accompaniment may encourage kids to sing along with some of Harpers' escapist refrains. Harper's enthusiasm is catching."

- John Sigwald

"My family is having a blast with melodious Monty and his mischievous metaphors ('more nervous than a wiener in a hot dog stand') and we're going to the library more often. Hmmm . . . what's going on here? Is there an infectious 'fun while learning' vibe in that CD signal?"

- Dave Kinnoin,
award-winning songwriter,
Song Wizard Records