ProFiLe

Megan Swoyer
Special to The AppleTree

hen you hear the words
"taffy pull," what comes
to mind? Old-fashioned
candy? Stretched sticky stuff? If you
are a parent of two or more children,
the words "taffy pull" might evoke
images of children battling it out over
which video to watch.
Wendy Rollin of Farmington Hills
knows all about taffy pulls. A mother
of two boys, she has had her fill of
challenging moments. And although
her sons now are grown, Rollin has
opposition on her mind a lot these
days-as she promotes her latest cre-
ation: "Na Uh and Na Huh," a musi-
cal tale of two kittens who live life on
opposite ends.
Rollin, who teaches music at Echo
Park School in Bloomfield Hills, wrote
the lyrics and music to the children's

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1997

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book, penned by Jerry Piasecki of
Farmington Hills and recently record-
ed by the Chenille Sisters of Ann
Arbor. She and Piasecki are sched-
uled to tour various bookstores in the
metro area to promote their work.
"The kittens strike a common chord
with anyone who has had two or
more children living together in the
same household," says Rollin, who
grew up in Oak Park and graduated
from the University of Michigan.
"The opposition of one saying yes
and one saying no causes the par-
ents to be in a taffy pull," Rollin says,
laughing.
The tape, produced by Can Too
Records, features two mini-musical
comedy tracks for children. The first
adventure is called "Super Rockin'
Rollin' Roller Coaster Ride," and the
second is "No Ordinary Sandwich."
Says the composer, "The project has
been a labor of fun."

violin, and my mother [Vera] plays
The story line features Na Uh, who
doesn't want to do anything, and Na the piano," says Rollin from her
piano-filled home. ("My
Huh, who wants to do
white
baby grand is a
everything. Therein lies the
Wendy Rollin
favorite.") When-her sons,
fun. "The text inspired me to
fell
asleep
to
the
Andrew and Benjamin, were
want to write some spirited,
Hebrew songs babies, she used to rock
irresistible sing-along songs
she learned at them to the tunes of Stevie
for children," Rollin says.
camp.
Wonder. And the musical
The tunes inspire listeners
mom, of course, wrote a
to open themselves to silli-
song, "Benjamin Baby," for one of
ness. Footloose and frolicking, Rollin's
her sons.
lyrics motivate all ages.
Rollin loves teaching music to her
school
children. What's great, she
Getting into treble
says, is seeing the more bashful boys
Rollin, a local performer also known
and girls sing, in spite of themselves.
as the Piano Lady, has carried the
"Music adds a whole dimension to
magic of music close to her heart
life," Rollin says. "Without it, life is
since she was a little girl.
just one meeting after another." ❑
"I loved the Hebrew songs at
camp," she says. "And for years
afterward, they would resonate when
I went to sleep at night."
Both of Rollin's parents were musi-
cal. "My father [Bernard] played the