The Circle is not your ordinary children's music album. It uses fun and creative songs to teach children about diversity and social and environmental justice, while inspiring families to engage in conversations about America's core democratic values. Written by singer songwriter Joe Reilly over the course of several years while working with students in Detroit, Chicago, and in the Ann Arbor Public Schools, the album features many talented local musicians including members of the Detroit Children's Choir, folk music duo Red Tail Ring (Kalamazoo), drummer Gayelynn McKinney, bass players Marion Hayden, Gene Fiero, and Max Lockwood, pianist and vocalist Allison Radell, vocalists Lesley-Anne Stone and May Erlewine, flutist Cynthia Page-Bogen, and percussionists Mark Stone, Lori Fithian, and Jamie Rusling. In addition to the 15 songs on The Circle, the album includes 4 excerpts from interviews with elders who have been influential in Joe's life, including civil rights legend Grace Lee Boggs. These bits of elder