Mary Jo Maichack is a national award-winning a dynamic singer, storyteller, fiddler & performer. Since 1989 she has performed more than 3,000 interactive shows of folktales, tunes & fun with young and family audiences on festival stages, libraries & schools. She is known for being fun and funny, engaging and energetic. Of "Books Are Celebrations," L.A. Parent wrote, "This collection of clever & engaging songs & poems celebrates the joy of letters, words, books and reading. Two traditional tales and one contemporary story, each preceded by fiddle music, round out the fun. A perfect purchase to start your little one on the literacy path." Maichack's singing has been described as lyrical and just plain beautiful, her material for the very young, sweet, and yet she ad libs for her adult audience traveling in the car together with the kids. "Books Are Celebrations" is first of all, entertaining & fun, lively and upbeat, cheerful. It also comes from Ms. Maichack's heart as (briefly) a past children's librarian. She knows that finding enjoyment in reading is the key to children's success & happiness, and sought to inspire and encourage children to love books through this first CD, which won a 1999 NAPPA (National Parenting Publications Association) Gold award. Parents' Guide to Media rated the album "5 of 5--recommended--can listen to repeatedly and still enjoy." School Library Journal wrote, "Mary Jo Maichack's beautiful voice rings out in this collection of songs, stories and poems. Interesting and useful." Chances are, you'll find yourself singing along to the pretty and catchy songs, and will listen happily to stories that connect with story: An African tale in which the world's trickster spider performs clever deeds to obtain stories about himself from the Sky God; a traditional European tale in which a tailor makes many things from his favorite cloth, even something eternal from just the thread that ultimately remains. There's a terrific poem about the difficulty and triumph in recognizing the sounds of letters to learn to read, and in between, fiddle tune to let the images settle in. Nancy Van Laan's wonderful picture book is told with funny character voices in a classic circular story, showing that story never ends. There is meaty strength in "Books Are Celebrations," but you'll most enjoy the fun. Maichack's latest CD, "Missing the Muffin Man," won 2007 NAPPA Honors, and her Halloween CD, "Howlarious Halloween" is just that, "HOWLARIOUS." Visit her Web site, www.MaryJoMaichack.com for more info and her performance schedule. Thank you for listening. Have her CDs delivered to you for repeatedly listening fun.