If I told you I’d just listened to an album with moments that reminded me of Barry Manilow’s ‘easy listening’ genius, songs that were Chris Isaak at his crooning best and sounds that were pure Harry Connick Jr pop swing you couldn’t be blamed for thinking ‘What a mess!’ You might also think it a travesty to mention all these artists in the one sentence. But take a bounce on Peter Himmelman’s My Trampoline and you may be surprised.

Peter Himmelman has a long history in the music industry and a breadth of experience, notably on soundtracks including his Emmy award-winning score for Judging Amy. His extensive discography includes five albums for children, the most recent of which is My Trampoline.

The album kicks off with the fast paced, big sound of Imagination and then moves down a gear with the seductive title track My Trampoline. I like this one simply because it shows that regardless of age, sometimes we all need boasting rights.

Parents will laugh along to Are There Any Kids Named Steve Anymore? while kids will really enjoy the roll-call of kid’s stats on Statistical Factoids which quotes the number of kids brushing their teeth, wiggling their toes in wet sand and feeding their pet tortoises at any one time.

The pure rock of King Ferdinand stands out, as does the country and western inspired Workin’, Playin’and Dreamin’ but the real gem on the album is the funny (but meaningful) Main Dish – “…why can’t I be the main dish? Why am I always on the side? Does the cheese want to be the spaghetti?…” The lyrics are all about food but the song is so much more and I’m sure many children will identify with the subtext.

So if you’re wondering where Barry Manilow is in all of this, listen to Ten Billion Blades of Grass. It features those anthem-like crescendos that are trademark ‘easy listening’ (and that I admit to a bit of a weakness for).

Peter Himmelman’s albums for children are available on iTunes for $16.99 each. The clip below is from the album My Green Kite – it shows Himmelman’s unique ability to put a little humour into a ballad.

It’s easy to become weary of the usual humdrum of children’s tees. I love these music themed shirts, right down to the one with a vinyl record player. Parents be warned, your children are sure to ask what that strange piece of equipment is!

Frustrated at what was on offer for children, Melbourne-based dynamic duo Clare Goodwin and rock band drummer dad Michael Barclay formed A.minor and set about creating fabulous music themed tees perfect for tots inclined to rock it out.

Each design is screen printed by hand on organic cotton tees, producing a fantastic graphic top worthy of any music fan. Everyone can be decked out in these funky threads too. Kids’ sizing starts at 00 right through to size 12. A.minor have also launched teen and adult sizes so the whole family can be in sync.

Long sleeve tees, tank tops, bodysuits and tees ensure A.minor can be worn all year round. A great gift for parents that are musically inclined and for those who aren’t, you can choose tees printed with trains, horses, cowboys and even gorgeous umbrella-toting ladies. I love the record player tee (pictured top) though!

Prices start at $24.95. A.minor are available locally at Violet Pilot in Fremantle, Western Australia and Maternal Instinct in Geelong, Victoria or via email. Keep an eye on their website as the A.minor online store will be launching soon!

Any children’s musician that pulls off the lyrics “This is a playdate travesty” gets my thumbs up.

The songs on Alexandra and the Good Batch’s first album, Extended Playdate, are precocious, sophisticated and tough in a totally likeable away. Don’t expect little ditties about animals, ice cream and fun, fun, fun. Instead the songs deal with real issues that many kids can relate to – divorce, parents getting cranky and feelings of frustration, confusion and shyness. If this is all sounding a little sombre, think again. The Good Batch delivers a pop album full of catchy tunes that both children and parents will see the humour in.

Lead singer Alexandra Geis saw a musical gap between the simplistic lyrics and rhythms available for preschoolers and the heavily synthesized ‘tween’ music. In writing songs for the Good Batch she wanted lyrics that described emotional experiences children can connect to – “…both child and parent have a chance to vent and laugh as we navigate some tough terrain about having two homes, demanding things of each other and falling apart… Most importantly, it’s about rocking out and loving it!”

Songs such as I Said “Mom!”, Tidal Wave and Crankymomma highlight lots of the emotions children experience. Geis’s sense of humour is evident throughout as this verse of Crankymomma demonstrates –

She dragged me back to the scene in the hall
Where I had done some abstract paintings on the wall
She asked who I thought I was and, “how old are you?”
I gave an alias and claimed to be twenty-two

There are two songs dealing with divorce – Two Homes and Red Dot Daddy. The songs are sensitive and personal and I like that Geis does not attempt to sugarcoat the situation, instead just gives the facts -

I’ve got two homes. I’ve got two homes.
It’s not better; it’s not worse: it just is
My green bike lives at one and my Blue’s at the other
But I can ride super fast both places

I usually try to draw some comparisons to bands you may know, so you get a feel for the sound but Alexandra and the Good Batch have me stumped – perhaps the Indigo Girls when they’ve drunk too much Fanta? (All the melancholy is certainly there but the pop sound bubbles over.) This is a lovely, brave album that will speak volumes to many kids and their parents.

Extended Playdate is available direct from Alexandra and the Good Batch for US$15, which includes shipping.

If you like your kindie music chock-full of sweet pop melodies, strummy acoustic guitars and hum-along harmonies, look no further than Lunch Money.

Lunch Money is everything I love about indie music for kids – clear lyrics with a touch of humour. At first glance you may think that Lunch Money is covering all the usual topics for kid’s music – trains, bikes, animals, dinosaurs and trips to the zoo. But you’d be wrong. Their quirky lyrics tell new and unusual tales. Take for example Tricycle off their first album, Silly Reflection.

“This tricycle was my uncle’s tricycle and that’s why it has a Snoopy sticker on it, This tricycle was my mother’s tricycle and that’s why it has a keep on truckin’ licence plate, You can call me Evil Knievel, that’s shorthand for the streak of red coming down your sidewalk on three wheels…”

The emphasis is on acoustic pop but there’s a good bit of blues inspired strings and brass on a number of tracks – check out the slinky sounds of Caboose and Yes, We Have Rhythm on Silly Reflection. My kids love both of these songs but my favourites are Miniature Things (I agree, who doesn’t love travel sized shampoo?!), Roller Coaster and Umbrella – again, it is the clever, quirky lyrics that will make you smile. Special mention also goes to I Want a Dog because one of my sons sings it with such passion (hint, hint).

On their latest album, Dizzy, don’t miss the super  and seriously funny ode to librarians, I Love My Library, and the head-spinning title track Dizzy (which has some nice retro references).

Perhaps I’m showing my age when I say that they remind me of that fab Australian female duo from the nineties, Club Hoy. But it’s the same brand of thoughtful lyrics with a pop-meets-blissed-out feel – thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish.

Both Lunch Money albums are available from Monkeytail & Wellington for $19.95 each.

My six-year-old son came home from school one day to report that a friend in his class “…knew a word with twelve letters!” It must have brought out the six-year-old in me because I said “Well I know one that’s longer – supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” He was impressed, very impressed. As Melbourne audiences will be when Mary Poppins hits town.

The Mary Poppins stage musical is a fusion of the classic Walt Disney film and the books by P.L.Travers. Expect full Mary Poppins magic – her bottomless carpetbag, walking statues, ladders to the stars, dancing on the rooftops of London, toys that come to life and, of course, riding the carousel.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is just one of the many songs that audiences will enjoy – the musical is packed with stage hits and I’m quite certain the lyrics will come flooding back as soon as you hear Chim Chim Cher-Ee, A Spoonful of Sugar, Jolly Holiday and Feed the Birds.

Mary Poppins has been a hit on Broadway and in the West End and now finally comes to Australia. It opens in July 2010 at Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne. Tickets are on sale now.

If there was such a thing as ‘classic rock’ for kids it would most definitely include The Jimmies. I’m not sure how long bands have to play the juice-box circuit before they are considered veterans, but The Jimmies brand of music never gets tired.

If you (and of course your children) are ready to move on from nursery rhymes but not sure where to start in the world of kindie music, let me suggest The Jimmies. There is good reason why their debut album, Make Your Own Someday, made more than ten ‘Album of the Year’ lists and was voted by parents as one of the top twenty albums of the decade.

So what is all the fuss about? Basically, this band rocks in the purest, coolest kind of way. Tracks such as Bedhead and Cool to be Uncool reel me in (I was a big fan of Voice of the Beehive in the 1990s and the sound has a similar feel). Admire the storytelling lyrics of Soaper the Scaredy-Bot and the gentle tune, Taddy.

There’s loads of energy in every song and it’s the kind of album made for dancing (not winding down before bedtime). There are lots of changes in pace and rhythm from the flamenco like Spanimals to the Peanut Butter Polka and reggae inspired Huptsha Huptsha – enough to keep kids interested from beginning to end.

The Jimmies have a new album, Every Day’s a Holiday, out soon but in the meantime “do yourself a favour” and grab a copy of Make Your Own Someday. It’s at iTunes for $16.99.

One of three things can happen when I buy a new CD. Either it doesn’t meet my expectations and I rarely play it again. Or I love a handful of tracks and add them to my iTunes playlists for repeated listening. Or I adore the whole album from the first note to the last and have it on ‘repeat play’ at home and in the car – sometimes an aural binge lasts a couple of months before a new favourite takes its place. When I heard Caspar Babypants for the first time, I knew immediately a new favourite had arrived.

Here I Am is Caspar Babypant’s debut album for kids and it’s a fabulous combination of catchy original tunes and traditional songs such as Shortnin’ Bread and Freres Jacques. The lyrics are straightforward, sweet and easy to understand (which I think is very important for children).

The standout track for me is Baby Bear – it’s like a Buddy Holly love song ‘kid-ified’. Other tracks have a solid bluegrass feel – Bug in the Cuff and Monkey River are both terrific – then there’s a change of pace with spunky little song The Island Hop. Caspar’s lyrics are pure and simple in a way that makes you think they might be cleverly making it up as they go along – songs like Bright Bug demonstrate this.

Clearly Caspar fans asked nicely as More Please came shortly after Here I Am. More Please features the same successful formula of well-known songs and fresh sounds. Caspar’s recording of the childrens’ classic Itsy Bitsy Spider is the perfect track to show off their unique sound and kids will love to hear about Mary’s (who had a little lamb) friends including Jerry and his porcupine and Harry with his elephant. The bluegrass feel continues with tracks such as Dog Gone Gone Dog Gone and Cotton Eyed Joe.

Standouts include the heartbreakingly sweet $9.99 and the musical garden adventure Rocks and Flowers. I also love the kooky sound of I’m a Nut and the superb lyrics of Made up My Mind is the truest ‘parent’s love song’ I’ve ever heard.

Get your Caspar Babypants from Monkeytail & Wellington for $19.95 each. While you’re there, watch Monkeytail’s interview with Caspar Babypants for some insights into their music making.

This morning we were on The Today Show showcasing our Mother’s Day ideas.

We came up with lots of gift ideas for you this year, from beautiful keepsakes to pampering treats and must-have nappy bags.

We picked some favourites from our lists to share on the show this morning and found a few more terrific gift ideas along the way – including some very affordable options that kids can buy with their own pocket money – so if you are still looking for something special for your mum, read on!

Steal some kitchen inspiration from Julie Goodwin. Since taking out the coveted title of Australia’s first MasterChef, Goodwin has been cooking up a storm and her first cookbook, Our Family Table, is full of lovely stories and recipes with a focus on good old-fashioned tucker. Our Family Table is available from Angus & Robertson for $33.95.

If books are on your Mother’s Day shopping list but cooking leaves you (or your own mum) cold, consider a Blurb book. Combine your own photographs, children’s artwork and a written account of special memories into a superb hardback book. A Blurb book is a great project for dads and a fantastic gift for grandparents.  Prices start from just $16.95 for a full colour book of up to forty pages and there is no minimum order.

It’s no secret that the mums here at Babyology have a serious thing for Il Tutto bags. There are many styles to choose from including the crinkle patent Nico, perfect for adding rock star edge to every day, the handy Olivia wallet and the luxurious Mia bag.  Not just for looks, Il Tutto bags are roomy, feature a zip-out inner lining that can be easily cleaned, a change mat and lots of pockets. Il Tutto bags are priced from $129.

Add a little bit of luxury to everyday with gorgeous sleepwear from Sussan. The range includes pyjamas, nighties and robes in styles to suit all mums, whether it is comfy checked flannels, pretty florals or elegant embroidered satin. Sussan’s sleepwear is beautifully presented in a gift bag and pyjamas are priced from $39.95.

If you want a little celebrity status with your skincare, look no further than Mama Mio. Fans include Jessica Alba, Christy Turlington and Jennifer Lopez and you will be too once you try Mama Mio’s excellent range of products. Designed for use during pregnancy and beyond, we love the Boob Tube (a push-up bra in a jar), Tummy Rub Butter and Goodbye Stretch Marks. Priced from $49.95.

For mums who have their morning coffee on the run, give them a coffee mug made with love. Bodum travel mugs can be customised with your favourite picture and fit safely in most car cup holders. Priced from $11.95, what a perfect pocket-money gift from the kids.

For a gift that really keeps on giving, create a herb box with everything you need for less than $25 from Bunnings. Get started with pots, potting mix and a selection of herbs – the chef of the house will have delicious fresh herbs all year round.

Chocolates, candles and hearts…  these are sure-fire ways to show mums love. One bite of Coco Chocolate’s handmade treats and you’ll know it is true love. Truffles, drinking chocolate and rose and violet creams are just some of the tempting (and very pretty) offerings from Coco Chocolate. Prices start from $9. Also available are beautifully scented Glasshouse Candles. A tranquil blend of honey, vetiver and patchouli, the Shambala candle is presented in a glass holder and burns for more than eighty hours. Available from Opus Design for $34.95. Love is all around with heart-shaped Post-it notes by 3M. For just $5.99, littlies can raid their money-boxes to leave mum lots of heart-felt messages this Mother’s Day.

Who says you can’t have stilettos ‘on’ all day?! These novelty Gimme Tunes Stiletto Speakers speakers are big on sound and can be used with CD players, MP3 players, computers and laptops. This fun choice for shoe-loving mums is available from Opus Design for $45.

The hottest gift for Mother’s Day (literally) is Heatable Cozy Boots. Cold feet? Aching feet? These microwavable booties will have you feeling warm and relaxed in an instant – all you need is a good book and a packet of Tim Tams and you’re set for the perfect night on the couch. They are available from dstore for $44.95. After relaxing on the couch, retire in style with a glamorous eye mask – if only they came with a guaranteed sleep-in! Priced at $14.95, eye masks are available from Opus Design.

Enjoy shopping and have a happy Mother’s Day.

(Mandi was styled for her Today appearance by Smitten with Style)

Parents may have chilled out over the years to a little Bob Marley but their children will be revving up (and chillin’) with his son, Ziggy Marley.

Ziggy Marley certainly has all the credentials to create a fabulous album for children. He grew up in a recording studio at a time when Bob Marley and The Wailers were at the height of their popularity. He also has five children of his own so he knows what works for kids.

Although not new to the kindie music scene (he has done a number of soundtrack recordings), Family Time is the first album for children that Marley has recorded. That said, Family Time is for everyone in the same way that the happy rhythms of reggae music generally appeal to kids. It is bright, packed with happy tunes and guaranteed to put a smile on little dials.

Marley has teamed up with a number of guest stars on Family Time and the impressive list includes Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson and members of his own family, making it truly a family affair. The whole album is thoroughly enjoyable but there are a few tracks that really stand out. I’m a dedicated Elizabeth Mitchell fan so teaming up with Marley for ‘Wings of the Eagle‘ is a treat. The duet with Willie Nelson, ‘This Train‘, is surprising – in very different ways both Marley and Nelson have a relaxed sound – the contrast in their voices works and is well worth a listen.

Children will love the tropical, musical version of the game Simon Says, called ‘Ziggy Says’, but the true gem is ‘ABC‘. When it comes to reggae, A is not for apple, ‘A is for Africa, B is for brother, and C is for caring’ and so on. The tune is inspired by Bob Marley’s ‘Bend Down Low‘ and as the music slides toward the familiar chorus, we hear ‘G is for guitar and H is for here we go… bend down low’.

Family Time is available from iTunes for $16.99.

Most kids want what their parents have – it’s why there are so many toy mobile phones on the market. But most parents don’t want the kids playing with their grown-up toys and for good reason – things go wrong or get broken (recall the Great Babyology iPhone Fiasco of November 2009).

For kids who want to fill their world with music – and for parents who would prefer the music wasn’t from their iPod – check out the SweetPea3, an MP3 player designed for children.

Perfect for music and stories, load it up with what your kids like (and what you think is appropriate) and it can be played out loud through the inbuilt speaker or through headphones. The SweetPea3 holds up to 32 hours of content to keep kids grooving, has simple controls and can withstand being dropped (unlike the more delicate grown-up MP3 players). My favourite feature is the hidden volume control for parental access only – I’m wondering if a similar thing can be installed on all future sound systems entering our house (imagine four teenagers under one roof and you’ll get my drift).

The SweetPea3 is US$59.95 and can be shipped to Australia.

Change the pace of what’s on your kid’s playlists with duo Key Wilde & Mr Clarke. These guys are bluegrass with a punk edge – an unlikely pairing that works incredibly well.

When I think country and western music I automatically think lonesome hearts, breaking hearts and aching hearts – maybe that speaks volumes about how little country and western I listen to. Either way, the hearts theme doesn’t work so well for preschoolers. Little country fans will go mad for Key Wilde & Mr Clarke. Their debut children’s album, Rise and Shine, is chock full of animal songs that rock in a bluegrassy, clashing punk kind of way. One reviewer very aptly sums up the album as ‘…a mix of Johnny Cash, Johnny Rotten and Johnny Appleseed. ‘

Clarke’s British accent gives the punk element authenticity and Wilde’s Texas upbringing checks all the right bluegrass boxes. Their voices combined on tracks like ‘Big Pet Pig’ show just how to blend bluegrass and punk.

The best tracks are ‘I Had a Little Dog‘, ‘Going to the Moon‘, ‘Rattling Can’ and ‘Big Pet Pig‘. ‘One Fat Frog’ gives a whole new meaning to counting songs with animal references that are humorous and alive with detail – “Six billy goats in cashmere coats…” and “Eight red ants spent the night away under bright white lights on the Champs Elysees…”

Personally I think the standout is ‘My Favourite Names‘. Although this song is not representative of the whole album (it’s pure punk) it has an incredible frenetic energy that is unlike anything I ‘ve heard for kids. It reminds me of the first time I heard the Violent Femmes when I was about twelve years old – I just somehow knew it was ‘bad’ and therefore, it was great!

Rise and Shine is available from Little Monster Records for US$10.98 and can be shipped here.

Dan Zanes was my introduction to the world of ‘kindie’ music. After hearing countless jolly tunes about wheels on a bus and animals on a farm, Dan Zanes was literally music to my ears.

Zanes is without doubt a veteran of kindie music. He’s been in the business for more than ten years, has produced over ten albums and also has DVDs, books and some very fancy gold dance pants to his name.

If you are not yet familiar with Zanes then Rocket Ship Beach is a good starting point. Zanes always includes his ‘friends’ on his albums and teams up with guest musicians to record a mix of kids’ songs and traditional tunes with a Dan Zanes edge. The ‘friends’ are as diverse as the playlist so expect Brown Girl in the Ring with The Wonderland Strings right alongside a duet with Suzanne Vega on Erie Canal. The album includes On the Sunny Side of the Street, a song I remember from my own childhood and which still puts a spring in my step.

House Party is, as the title suggests, a house party and lots of friends are invited. Debbie Harry joins Zanes for a folksy rendition of Waltzing Matilda and Jamaica Farewell, his duet with Angelique Kidgo, will have you humming – and chilled out – all day.

A couple of Zanes albums are themed – Nueva York! is a collection of traditional Latino folksongs that will appeal to both children and adults; Sea Songs is a collection of accoustic maritime songs; and latest album 76 Trombones introduces Broadway gems to a young audience. Again, the mix is spot on with Hello, Dolly! sitting alongside Thumbelina.

Find Dan Zanes albums on iTunes for $16.99 each.

If you like your sound plastic (and I don’t mean one-hit wonders from the 80s) then a Lego Boombox or a Lego MP3 player may be the perfect way to enjoy your music collection.

Made by Digital Blue, the Lego Boombox is designed to look exactly like a Lego brick, but ten times the size. It has all the features you would expect in a boombox (cast your mind back to the 80s to remember what they were) but the feature I like best is that they are stackable! Wall of sound anyone?

Also available is a Lego MP3 player. Again, technical features aside, this MP3 player is compatible with real Lego bricks so can be built in to any Lego creation.

But don’t clear the hi-fi shelf just yet. Although they are available from Amazon, neither the boombox nor the MP3 player is compatible with Australia systems. We just couldn’t resist showing them to all our Lego fans.

The second video that really stood out was ‘Heaven Can Wait’ by Charlotte Gainsbourg featuring a duo with Beck.  Directed by Keith Schofield, this surreal montage is a feast of unusual imagery.

Charlotte Gainsbourg – Heaven Can Wait from Charlotte Gainsbourg on Vimeo.

Definitely better than most made-for-children fare.  Share your favourite child-friendly music videos in the comments.

For something new that really rocks, get your kids listening to The Not-Its. This indie/new-wave/alt-rock band fresh from Seattle will win kids over with their ultra-catchy tunes (I certainly feel like a cool mum reviewing new indie bands from Seattle).

The Not-Its’ distinctive sound is characterised by lots of layered guitars and fantastic vocal harmonies “all nestled within fantastic danceable pop gems about gettin’ fancy, birthday parties, bath time and intergalactic play dates.” That might sound a little over the top but every note of this album works beautifully.

It’s rare that I really enjoy every track on an album, especially kids’ music (where invariably at least one song drives you around the bend – usually the same song that your kids love the best). However, I can honestly say that it is difficult to pick stand out tracks from We Are The Not-Its, as the whole album is thoroughly enjoyable.

When I’m Five is a lovely little ode to starting school and I suspect my daughter has made track four, Dressin’ Up, her signature tune, given that it suggests that we need ‘a certain amazing outfit’… everyday.

B.A.T.H simply rocks – the guitar and drum solos are exciting and the spelling out of BATH will be as thrilling for preschoolers as it was for anyone the first time they let a song like Gloria rip – there’s something about the crescendo of spelling out a word in song that is exciting.

The changing rhythms in Watch Me Share perfectly reflect the harmony and discord of children’s play sessions when they are sharing or not. The tempo is a little frantic when someone is being left out, then slowing into a steady beat with smooth harmonies for the ‘watch me share’ chorus – really very clever.

The track I’ve been singing for days is The Great Compromise. With lyrics like “When it’s the weekend at my house, we change a few rules… Saturday morning cereal, the sugary kind is what you’ll find in my bowl… it’s called a compromise…”, this song has a lovely message.

And if the vocals are sounding familiar, it may be because one of the band members, Sarah Shannon, was a member of the 90s indie band Velocity Girl – clearly she is still rockin.

We Are the Not-Its is available on iTunes for $16.99.

Pack the world into your picnic basket with an album of child friendly songs about food from around the globe. Picnic Playground by Putumayo Kids celebrates the joys of healthy eating, food and cooking with a fantastic collection of catchy tunes.

The cool reggae track Icecream from Trinidad and the super smooth Mon Parents Sont Bio are both firm favourites with our junior Babyology team. Also got us grooving were Bolitas de Arroz con Pollo from Cuba (think Buena Vista Social Club for kids) and the African inspired Safari from Denmark! You may be tricked by the reggae sound of Australia’s contribution Pomodoro by Melbourne funk band Bomba.

The album finishes with ‘cookies and milk’ – a groovy little number from Canada called Let’s Bake Cookies and the pure pop Milch from Germany (see clip above). There are notes and recipes included with the CD explaining how kids can ‘eat like a rainbow’.

Putumayo Kids introduces children to other cultures through music from around the world. There are eighteen titles in the Putumayo collection including albums dedicated to songs for the playground from Europe, Brazil, Hawaii, Africa and Asia. There’s also albums of animal themed songs, lullabies, and the fun Sesame Street Playground, which features well loved Sesame Street songs sung in other languages – Ernie singing Rubber Duckie in Chinese, the whole gang singing the opening song in Dutch, and so on.

Order directly through Putumayo Kids.

The Sippy Cups list The Velvet Underground, early Pink Floyd, T Rex, The Ramones and their own children among their influences. When I first heard a collection of their songs, I immediately thought of the quirkiness of Voice of the Beehive combined with the seamless vocals of The Beautiful South. It’s two parts pop and one part folk and the result is kids’ music at its very best.

The Sippy Cups have recorded three albums and one EP. Their latest release, The Time Machine, is chock-full of catchy tunes that will have kids (and parents) singing. A stand-out is 7 is the new 14 – it’s not easy to write a fun maths song but my seven-year-old son particularly likes this one and I think he is secretly hoping he’ll be fast-tracking to 14! Featured on both The Time Machine and their EP is the fantastic track One Day Soon which describes a child’s growing confidence to take on all sorts of things from swimming to reading. Bop along to Don’t Remove the Groove, chill out with Awake and make light of grumpy days by singing a few bars of My Angry Voice.

One of my favourite Sippy Cups’ tracks is from the One Day Soon EP and is called Listen With Your Eyes. It’s perhaps the loveliest modern lullaby I’ve heard – beautiful, clear vocals that tail off with the simple instruction “Lay down in your bed…”

Check out the cute little film clip below which tells a funny story. All of The Sippy Cups’ albums are available from iTunes. The Time Machine is $16.99.

When I think Deborah Harry I immediately start humming the opening riff from Call Me however a new generation of Harry fans will get to know her for her patience — in particular, her Patience Bossa. Patience Bossa is just one of twenty tracks on the star-studded A World of Happiness album.

Heavy jazz influences and rich production make A World of Happiness a nice change from the simple guitar and drum outfits that make up the majority of children’s recordings. A World of Happiness features layers of percussion, brass and vocals that kids aged five to ten will enjoy. Clever lyrics sung by some big names — Samuel.L.Jackson, Isaac Hayes, Rosanna Arquette and Magic Johnson — make this great listening for the whole family.

Harry’s distinctive voice comes through on Don’t Cha Wanna Know which has a familiar The Tide is High lilt. Other stand-outs include the big brassiness of Lou Rawls’ title track A World of Happiness, Knowa the Cat by Samuel. L. Jackson and Kassandra the Snakeby Gretchen Parlata, who positively slinks from the speakers!

My favourite track is the stunning In the Details by Lisa Loeb. Gen-Xers will remember Loeb best for her hit, Stay (I Miss You), from the Reality Bites soundtrack, however she has also recorded a considerable number of songs for children, including teaming up with one of my favourite children’s artists, Elizabeth Mitchell to record the superb album, Catch the Moon. Loeb’s voice is perfect for the kooky track In the Details. The message of the song is essentially that everything that matters is in the details — from tearing the wrapping paper off a present to a ladybird’s smile — a sweet song for fast paced lives!

A World of Happiness is available for $16.99 from iTunes or can be purchased through Amazon.

When I first heard Bunny Clogs, I had flashbacks to my days at university when I’d check out independent bands in smoky little pubs.
The debut album, More! More! More!, is quite unlike any children’s music I’ve heard before. This is hardly surprising when Bunny Clogs’s front-man Adam Levy lists his influences as: Beatrix Potter, Dylan, KISS, Dr.Seuss and Hendrix.

One reviewer aptly describes the Bunny Clogs’ sound as a mix of Beastie Boys’ cool, Prince’s groove, and Flaming Lips’ wackiness – served up as kid-friendly, sweet songs. Levy himself sums it up as "Shel Silverstein-meets-Prince surreal dance fun". And there certainly is a good deal of dance beats, house and hip hop themes to get kids moving! Tracks such as Confessions of a Teenage Lima Bean, Butter, and Shpilkas are fantastically crazy.

The lyrics are often funny, yet some tracks carry a more serious message. Song for Powderhorn, for instance, is an anthem for eight-year-olds; its message may resonate with kids today in the same way that Do They Know it’s Christmas? did for me in the ’80s.

Levy’s ’60s and ’70s soul influences come through in a number of tracks including Midtown Greenway (check it out below), Olive’s Olives, Potatoes with Problems and the very beautiful Lullaby Pie 3.14.

More! More! More! by Bunny Clogs is available from iTunes for $16.99.