Take four well known children’s stories, add music and a little creative licence and you have a listening treat for toddlers.

Anna Padgett has just released a collection of four stories set to music – The Good Ms. Padgett Sings The Little Red Hen.

The Little Red Hen, Goldilocks, Henny Penny and The Billy Goats Gruff are given the special ‘Ms. Padgett’ treatment – familiar tales with a folksy twang.

Padgett switches between story-telling, strumming her guitar and bursts of song seamlessly. While I do love the story of Henny Penny (partly because I have a ‘Penny’ of my own), Pagett’s telling of Goldilocks is sweet, especially Baby Bear’s funny falsetto voice. I also really liked the Billy Goats Gruff ‘freedom’ song and my kids enjoyed the repeated troll and goat songs.

Sometimes when you listen to children’s recorded stories, the tone and pace can be a little formal. Not so when you add music. Padgett basically sticks to the storylines that we are all familiar with but throws in the odd aside – for example, when the Little Red Hen uses a scythe to cut the wheat, Padgett sings “She got a big scythe… “ and then, as way of explanation, “…a big cutting thing…”

This would be a terrific CD to play in the car (particularly if you want a break from straight music) or to play during ‘quiet time’ with the kids (that’s mid-afternoon at our house and involves books, puzzles and ‘quiet’ music!).

The Good Ms. Padgett Sings The Little Red Hen is available from iTunes for $6.76 and also on disc from CD Baby for US$10.