Album Review: Little Wild Learning

The art of writing children’s music is deceptively harder than people might expect. The songs are easy to listen to and lyrically simple, but they must incorporate educational vocabulary, introduce new ideas about life, and maintain a catchiness that gives young listeners a fun experience, rather than one that could be overwhelming. With those rules in mind, Claudia Robin Gunn creates a beautiful collection for kids with her latest release Little Wild Learning.

A folk-pop album for ages three to six, Little Wild Learning is a sticky-sweet record teaching its audience about the changing world around them. Butterflies best embodies this idea, with country-esque instrumentation telling a saccharine story about animals exploring the world. This obviously metaphorically represents children’s first steps into the world in the same way. It unfolds into a beautiful choir-style outro with layered harmonies and melodic lines. How To Make A Friend spells out connecting with others through interplaying vocals between two performers, and Kindy Kid featuring Gunn’s childhood friend Jenny Freed celebrates the always exciting landmarks of growing up.

Claudia Robin Gunn also branches out for her own take on the ABCs with Alphabet Phonics, which twists the classic by offering up tough but important new words for each letter. Similarly, Animal Sounds is typical fodder for children’s music, but the upbeat, bright energy shows plenty of charisma and personality, guaranteed to grab kids’ attention. There’s also the fun revelation that some animals in fact do not make sounds! Each track feels warm and light hearted with its organic instruments, produced with polish but maintaining the perfect level of sparsity. Considering how standard children’s music content can feel, these songs prove Gunn is capable of making the genre her own, yet keeping it as accessible and enjoyable as ever for the target demographic.

For those looking to incorporate music into their child’s learning, Claudia Robin Gunn is always a wonderful choice. With her talented ear for a hook, lyrics that push the listener just enough, and her bubbly personality, she just might be Aotearoa’s best pick for the job. Little Wild Learning might even be so good, adults can’t deny they’re loving it, too!