Juno Jr.: One Bunny Band

The musical series Juno Jr., from the creators of the Emmy-winning Juno Baby line, features a live original orchestral soundtrack and additional language options of Spanish and French. In One Bunny Band, 6-year-old singing and piano-playing Juno and her toddler brother Rai Rai leave their live-action home to travel on a musical train to computer-animated Harmonious Springs, where they meet up with the puppet versions of their real-life pets. Here, anthropomorphic Bunny has “Serenades for Sale,” offering to follow busy cat Indie around, singing to match his activities throughout the day. However, Bunny doesn't quite get it: her version of a lullaby is too loud, while her song to get Indie energized for his race against caterpillar Murphy is unsuitably slow. Through gentle reminders by Juno and pals, coupled with song vignettes, Bunny learns the differences between smooth legato and short and quick staccato articulation. Bonus features include flash cards. Emphasizing that “how you play something is just as important as what you play,” this instructive music appreciation program for preschoolers is highly recommended. [Note: Also newly available is Juno Jr.: The Day the Music Stopped.] Aud: K, P. (J. Williams-Wood)