Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Songs for kids

On our way to pre-school for the past couple weeks Will and I have been singing along full-volume (and hitting repeat) to the song ““Wild Wild Party in the Loquat Tree,” by the Indigo Girls – our favorite kids track of late. It’s on this Mary Had a Little Amp album that our friend Ann gave us for Christmas. Many of the tunes on the CD are really just nice mellow poppy songs that adults might actually like better than kids but that maybe have a sort of dreamy kid theme to them – but the Loquat Tree is pure kid fun. Go here for the lyics. Will and I like to try to sing along and we CHATTER, CHIRP, SQUEAK, BUZZ with the animals.
One of our all-time favorite kid albums is probably Country Goes Raffi – in terms of finding that middle ground where adults and kids can have fun with the songs. On that album it’s “Shake my Sillies Out” out that gets played again and again, per Will’s request – with “Baby Beluga” as a distant second. And the Philadelphia Chickens CD by Sandra Boynton makes us laugh too.

Rob especially likes to dip into the old traditionals – like Leadbelly and Pete Seeger doing kid tunes.

So I’m thinking…. Maybe it’s time for a story reviewing the top 10 albums for kids (and, possibly, their parents too). Let me know some of your favorites kids CDs and I’ll try to put something together.

3 comments:

shannon said...

Fun!
We dance around the kitchen most to a Smithsonian Folkways Children's Music Collection. It's got some of the call and response songs like Mary Mack. Our favorite is a tune called, appropriately enough, All Around the Kitchen. There are some other's you'll never forget the lyrics to (because they have like three or so) such as Merrily We Roll Along and Sur le Pont d'Avignon.
Now, if I were making a mixed tape for a kid, I'd have to include my children's favs like Electrified by Dressy Bessy, Creep on In by Norah Jones, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots by The Flaming Lips, Mr. Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan, an accordian track from the Amelie soundtrack and Bug Rain by Looper. They Might be Giants are very educational and made for children, too. And we rock out in the car to all the songs on Feist's The Reminder - my six year old makes everyone be quiet so she can master the lyrics to I Feel it All and Sealion.
There's also this elusive band called Pure I listened to in high school who sing a song with the lyrics, Open the windows wide. . . that my six year old can't get enough of. . . . My two year old boy loves Jack Johnson because of the drums and he associates it with Curious George.

Grace said...

That is funny...Ella always wants to repeat the Loquot Tree song too. Check out Ralphs World (Ralph is from Chicago) for good kids music. Our favorite Ralphs World CD is "At the Bottom of the Sea" And Dan Zanes (formerly of the Del Fuegos)- we like the Rocket Ship Beach CD best. And for old time classics you can't beat a little Burl Ives - try the lollipop tree.

Annie Addington said...

Thanks for the ideas! We'll look forward to dancing and singing to some new tunes. And a mixed-tape with "adult" songs that kids love too is a great idea. Will's got favorite songs on most of the albums we listen to regularly.