Review of “Story Monsters Theme” Produced by Linda Radke, Featuring Erin Rementer, Zachary Simpson

Score: 94/100 (9.4 out of 10)

This cheerful, upbeat, and playful Story Monsters Theme perfectly encapsulates the Story Monsters LLC publishing brand that has swept our literary contests!

This song reminds us of some of the memorable tunes from children's daytime TV shows like Big Comfy Couch, Barney, and Bananas in Pyjamas!

This song captures that innocent, fun, positive, and uplifting mood of something like I Love You (You Love Me) from Barney.

There's something undeniably wholesome, friendly, and happy about this song. We loved and appreciated that.

The lead vocals by Erin Rementer are smooth, friendly, and cheerful. It's very inviting and welcoming. Rementer is an experienced vocalist who performs for Universal Studios and Walt Disney World on a daily basis! She certainly carries a Disney princess-esque vibe to the song.

There's another thing that this song does well: taking an inquisitive, questioning stance that gets the audience (and the kids in the song) thinking. It gets their gears turning and their wheels spinning, something that you want when trying to engage a young audience. The song also builds and explores the mystery and story of the Story Monsters brand itself by explaining what a Story Monster is, what they do, and who they are.

The lyrics are well constructed by Conrad J. Storad, the author of the Story Monsters children's book from which these characters originate.

The song serves as terrific promotional material for the brand, demonstrating for the listener that kids love (or will love) the Story Monsters and Story Monsters books. The message is clear: OUR BOOKS ARE FOR YOU!

Speaking of a young audience, this song features backup vocals by several different children, often participating in the answering of questions prompted by the narrator and singing along with the chorus. They actually do a fantastic job! They add to the youthful spirit of the song and fit the publisher's main demographic.

Another great thing about this song is the effective use of the xylophone as one of the song's main instruments. The xylophone is perfect for a song like this since, like the singing of the children, it fits the tone and the demographic of the song's intended audience. The xylophone is also an instrument that many kids will have access to at their schools and daycare facilities because, like a drum, it is easy for young children to use as it uses the larger muscles of the hand and arm. The piano plays subtly throughout the song and then becomes the focal point of the bridge building to the end of the song.

Lastly, there's a motion to the rhythm of the song. It's a song that you can bob and sway to, even from a crisscross, applesauce seated position (which is perfect for circle times and reading times). The background music was composed by Zachary Simpson. Simpson has over a decade of experience composing music for film, TV, and even video games! He is a graduate of the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston.

This isn't something you would probably hear on the radio outside of a commercial, and it's probably not something most people would go out of their way to download. However, for the promotional purpose it was likely created for, it's excellent!

Update: a few days after listening to this, it's still stuck in our heads so we added an extra point. It's really catchy!

Check out the Story Monsters Theme here!