Thanks and Giving All Year Long -Companion CD-

Product Description The publication of Marlo Thomas' forthcoming anthology for children, Thanks and Giving All Year Long (Simon & Schuster), was largely inspired by cherished memories of Thanksgiving, a holiday that, she notes, "brings together two great ideas-thanks and giving-that we can celebrate every day of the year." The book collects uplifting stories, poems and pictures from acclaimed writers, illustrators, and celebrities, and Rhino's CD companion volume compiles songs and spoken word selections from a host of musicians and notables. Amazon.com Marlo Thomas's reasons for waiting to follow up 1972's landmark feminism-for-kids disc Free to be You and Me remain her own, but Thanks & Giving: All Year Long comes not a second too late, suffusing both its grown-up listeners and the under-10 crowd with the same sit-up-straight-but-laugh-hard spirit of its predecessor. The message has changed--generosity and giving get the treatment this go-round--but the thrill remains the same. Here you've found a disc that folds many of your still-developing parental speeches into easily swallowed, often hilarious soundbites. Credit Hollywood, whose heavy hitters Jennifer Aniston, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Robin Williams pitch in with stories and rhymes (studded by musical breaks from , , and others). Or credit Thomas, who produced and performed extensively, misstepping only on an awkward duet with . Either way, you get a disc whose message and MO makes sense for everybody in the family, and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital gets 100 percent of the royalties. --Tammy La Gorce