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December Reviews

Cookie's roundup of the best music for kids

Plays Well With Others: Uncle Rock; Jackpot Music, $10 Ages 2 And Up; Don't be scared off by Robert Burke Warren's stage name: He's more "uncle" than "rock." In this mostly acoustic song set, the former actor sanitizes some psychedelia (The Who's "Magic Bus," Steppenwolf's "Magic Carpet Ride") and covers "Pure Imagination" from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The bulk of the album, though, is original tunes, ranging from tender ballads ("Connected") to folksy sing-alongs ("Playin' Possum"). Then, of course, there are freewheeling, fun tracks like "Sugar Talkin'" and "Rock & Roll Babysitter," which leave no doubt as to the origin of Warren's nom de guitar.

You Are My Little Bird: Elizabeth Mitchell; Smithsonian Folkways, $12All ages; It might seem odd to use the term tour de force in reference to a children's folk recording, but that's the description that comes to mind when you listen to Elizabeth Mitchell's paragon of the genre. The songs aren't new (you'll hear covers of staples by the likes of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie, as well as more unexpected artists such as Bob Marley and the Velvet Underground), but Mitchell's expert vocal performance—her voice rolls, when called for, from a crisp vibrance to a gentle airiness—makes each one seem as if it has been written for her. Whether she's singing in English, Spanish, Japanese, or Korean, she embodies the spirit of folk music. Guthrie and Seeger would be proud.

When I Get Little: Dog on Fleas; Dog on Fleas, $15Ages 2 and up; What's most shocking about this talented quintet is not how adeptly they surf from one genre to another (one minute you're kicking up your heels at a hootenanny; the next you're toe-tapping on a Mississippi riverboat or swing-dancing at a Jazz Age supper club). Instead, it's the fact that When I Get Little is this group's fourth CD: After rollicking along to the call-and-response eco-anthem "Trees," or the ska-tinged Humpty Dumpty tale "What's Behind the Wall," you'll surely question why you haven't heard of them before. In this golden age of children's music, Dog on Fleas deserves to finally emerge from under the radar.

Marvelous Day: SteveSongs; Rounder, $15Ages 18 months and up; The mainstream music that crosses over into the children's arena—as evidenced by the tracks from adult radio that end up getting nominated for Kids' Choice Awards (think artists like Ryan Cabrera and Gavin DeGraw)—almost always falls under the rubric of power pop. Steve Roslonek of SteveSongs has obviously caught on. His tunes could serve as a preschooler's primer for tween rock: The hooks are just as catchy, but the attitude is dialed down to kindergarten level, and the subject matter stays in the friendlier realm of animals ("Elephant Hide and Seek," for instance), healthy food ("The Veggie Song"), and silly humor ("Opposite Day").

New Orleans Christmas: Various Artists; Putumayo, $16All ages; Every December, whether you like it or not, you're going to be subjected to the same Christmas carols ad nauseam. So when your kids ask for the songs of the season at home, why not treat them—and yourself—to versions that rise above and beyond the twinkly tones you hear piped through the sound system of your local shopping mall? New Orleans Christmas is the most refreshing Yuletide collection to hit CD racks in years. Classics like "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town," "Silver Bells," and "White Christmas," given a twist of jazz, blues, and Dixieland, somehow sound completely new again.