Monster Hits!; Sing Yourself Silly!

Culled from segments which originally appeared on Sesame Street, these two compilation tapes feature the Sesame Street gang members in winning combinations of song and puppetry. In Monster Hits, the framing device used is an amiable parody of the Grammy Awards, with Herry Monster serving as emcee. With the exception of Grover's rendition of "Comb Your Face," nothing really stands out on this tape, although most of the tunes are bouncy, pleasing, and more often than not carry a social message ("Fuzzy and Blue" and "We Are All Monsters," for example, teach individual pride and tolerance for others, while "Healthy Food" espouses the benefits of good eating habits.) The second collection is better, with such classics as "The Ladybug Picnic" and "Mary Had a Bicycle." The centerpiece is the celebrity-filled "Put Down the Duckie," in which Ernie is advised to lay aside his webbed friend if he wants to produce squeak-free sounds on the trumpet. Paul Simon, John Candy, Jeremy Irons, Pee Wee Herman, Danny DeVito and a host others appear in cameos. Both of these inexpensive programs are good choices for children's collections with Sing Yourself Silly, especially, highly recommended. (Available from most distributors.)