Bowmar/ Lucille Wood, Marni Nixon & William Schallert "Halloween: A Book-Recording Set" (Bowmar, B587, 1960's)

Bowmar educational records stretch at least from the 1950's into the 1970's, and covered a variety of subjects. They seem to have released a few Halloween albums over their lifespan, and this particular one is from a series dedicated to each month of the year that was clearly geared towards fairly young kids. Behind the scenes composer & Bowmar alumni (perhaps you enjoyed her work on "Rhythm Time #2"?) Lucille Wood wrote the music & lyrics, and well-accomplished singer Marni Nixon provides the narration (supposedly William Schallert is in there too).

So that you can get a sense of the original intent for the album, I've included scans of some of the interior booklet in with the zip file. Here are some excerpts:

"The narration and the easy-to-sing melodies on the recording make immediate and independent participation possible. Create a warm friendly atmosphere of acceptance where each child knows that his ideas and interpretations will be respected. Encourage children to 'feel like' rather than 'look like' whatever they may be imitating or interpreting. Before the recording begins invite the children to sit in a 'Halloween circle'.

TIPTOE: How would you tiptoe into a scary, haunted house? Suggest that the children tiptoe out of the circle to any place in room.
GOBLINS SONG: Will you be a funny goblin or a scary goblin? If the children dance in a circle, indicate the direction of movement to avoid collisions.
HALLOWEEN GHOSTS SONG: Dance as lightly as ghosts float through the air."

...as you can see the whole thing is mainly geared towards fostering a sense of interaction and activity (rather than spooks and scares), but for obsessives like myself it still oughtta do a good job of "setting the mood". Okay, see you all in the "Halloween circle"!



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