Shine and the Moonbeams - Shine and the Moonbeams

Artist: Shine and the Moonbeams

 Album: Shine and the Moonbeams

Age Range : 4 through 10

Description: Most of what I wanted to say about the long-awaited debut album from the New York City band I said in my NPR review of the album, but I wanted reemphasize how happy that Shawana Kemp finally got her album out into the world.  While it's not really the first R&B and soul album in kids music, it's the first that got the sometimes insular "kids music world" excited.  And while it's the songs that deal with real-life social issues like bullying and self-respect that could give this album a long shelf life with schools and families, I'm also looking forward to sillier, groovier, jazzier songs along the lines of "Do You Ever Stop" and "Shake for Eight."  Lots of fun, lets hope the success of this one makes the follow-up come out faster.  Definitely recommended.

Note: I received a copy of this album for possible review. 

Good Morning My Love - Vered

Artist:  Vered

Album:  Good Morning My Love

Age Range: 0 - 3

Description:  The New York-based musician Vered tackles a mostly-overlooked niche -- original songs (not lullabies) for the very youngest kids.  There are tons of albums for the 4-to-8-year-olds, or collections of traditional songs and lullabies, but Good Morning My Love  is targeted directly at babies (and maybe young toddlers).  Songs about exploring things orally ("Hands In My Mouth") or the desire to have parents nearby ("Don't Leave Me") speak to the developmental needs of the very young).  Produced by fellow kindie musician and relative Jon Samson, there's a light, organic feel to the music (lots of a capella and hand/finger rhythms in addition to the occasional guitar, uke, and random real instrument), which is appropriate given that the hope is that the listener then sings these songs to his or her baby.  (Listen to a sampler here.)  These are fun songs, and while they're targeted at the very youngest set, some are catchy enough that parents (and kids) might remember a couple of them at the kindergarten swing set.  Recommended.

You're Happier When You're Happy! - Boxtop Jenkins

Artist:  Boxtop Jenkins

Album:  You're Happier When You're Happy!

Age Range:  3 to 7

Description: If you're going to title your album "You're Happier When You're Happy," you darn well better deliver an album that makes listener happy (or happier).  And on his debut, floppy-eared Boxtop Jenkins, the creation of singer-songwriter Franklin Bunn and producer Glenn Matullo, do indeed.  "Wag More," featuring the Indigo Girls, from which the album title is cribbed, is a perfect dog-based attitude correction, while the take on "Five Little Monkeys" with Shawn Mullins enlivens a song that often gets boring long before that last monkey falls off the bed.  The album covers a broad stylistic range (swing on "Swingin' Monkeys" or spooky on "Rattlin' Rattlin' Bones") but as you might expect from the presence of the Indigo Girls and Mullins, it hovers around an earthy folk-alt-rock sound.  (Listen to the album here.)  With Bunn currently living in Germany, it makes it hard for Boxtop to fully participate in the American kindie scene, but I know that he and Matullo are trying hard to get Boxtop in front of more North American ears.  I hope they succeed, because this album could have a lot of fans.  Recommended.

Book Review: Tito Puente: Mambo King / Rey del Mambo (Monica Brown / Rafael López

Author: Monica Brown 

Illustrator:  Rafael López

Age Range: 4 to 8

 Book: Tito Puente: Mambo King / Rey del Mambo 

Description: In bright, vivid colors and words to match the well-beloved Latin music legend, Brown and López tell the story of Puente's childhood and eventual decision to become a musician.  In this retelling, it's not so much a decision as it is a calling -- "Before he could walk, Tito was making music.  He banged spoons and forks on pots and pans, windowsills and cans."  It's not a terribly detailed biography, but there are some nice biographical touches (Tito's first band? "Los Happy Boys").  Displaying the text in both English and Spanish is a nice touch, and López's illustrations are vibrant.  (Watch a book trailer here.)  Recommended for fans of Puente and Latin music, or anyone seeking to expand their family's or classroom's musical knowledge beyond what is often in book form limited to rock and classical music.

Always Be a Unicorn - Helen Austin

Artist:  Helen Austin

Album:  Always Be a Unicorn

Age Range:  4 through 8

Description:  The British-born musician, now residing in British Columbia, Canada, recorded an album of poppy folk music that's kid-friendly without being "kids' music."  Even "All the Letters," which runs through the alphabet, wouldn't sound out of place on an album not filed under "Children."  (Indeed, the track "Treehouse" was already released on a non-kids album.)  The music has a bit of a music-box quality -- it's gentle but occasionally exuberant and anchored by Austin's warm songwriting and clear, distinctive voice.  (Listen to the album here.)  Nominated for Best Children's Album at the 2013 Junos, Unicorn  is recommended for those times when your family is seeking folk-pop that's more concerned with a kid's (or adult's) sense of emotional security rather than learning their letters.

Live from Brooklyn - Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Artist: Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could

Album:​ Live from Brooklyn

Age Range:​ 3 to 9

Description:​ Rymer's 2011 album Love Me For Who I Am​ was an album inspired by and to some extent recorded for students at a school for children with alternative learning styles, but its empathy and Rymer's genial roots-rock sound helped make that album have a wider appeal.  This live EP recorded that spring at Southpaw in Brooklyn draws primarily from that album, but also features Rymer's raved-up version of hit "Jump Up," the tender "I'm In Here," and one funky "Ding Dong."  And, as always, The Little Band That Could, who years ago I said "might just be the best-sounding band in kids music," still sounds pretty darn good.  Recommended, especially if your family has never heard or seen the band live.

[Disclosure: I was provided a copy of this album for possible review.]​

Family Values - Charity and the JAMband

Artist: Charity and the JAMband

Album: Family Values

Age Range: 4 to 8

Description: ​Don't let the peace sign on the album cover fool you.  Sure, the fifth album from San Francisco's Charity Kahn and her bandmates is filled with plenty of peace, love, and understanding -- heck, there's even a song titled "Flower Power."  But if you think that the music inside will be weak, you'd be wrong.  The aforementioned "Flower Power" has a muscular guitar chorus, and it's not the only track that begs to be played loudly out of a speaker (as long as the kids are wearing hearing protection headphones, right?)  Not all the tracks are as loud -- see "Grateful" or "Green Beans Everywhere" (which, full disclosure, I helped bring into existence) -- but Kahn and her bandmates take their JAMband moniker seriously.  You can hear the 48-minute album here (or via the widget below).  Family Values ​is a musically sprawling album with a compassionate message.  The combination of the two will resonate with a number of families.  Recommended.

​[Disclosure: I was provided a copy of the album for possible review.]

PLAY music, Volume 2 - Various Artists

Artist: Various Artists (PLAY music)

Album: PLAY music, Volume 2​

Age Range: 1 to 6

Description: When it comes to early childhood music and movement programs, we are (or at least have been) card- (and CD-)carrying members of the Music Together ​family.  And while I've heard a bunch of CDs from other programs, none have quite matched the quality and scope of those MT disks.  This album is one of the first early childhood music and movement CDs that I would consider adding to our collection.  It's from PLAY music, a Los Angeles-based program.  The 43-minute disk doesn't quite approach the breadth of a MT disk in terms of song selection -- it felt slightly more American folk-based and more less "odd" in places (e.g., not so many songs in non-standard time signatures or keys).  But the quality of the tracks themselves is top-notch -- it's somewhat more organic than the MT disks, thanks to the production of musician Willie Aron (who worked with Peter Himmelman on his kids music) and the presence of kindie musicians Randy Kaplan and Lucky Diaz on a few tracks.  I'm not sure what the market is for music and movement disks outside the context of those classes, but this is a solid collection of folk songs and other songs designed for singing (and dancing and rhythm-sticking) along with your kids.  Recommended.

[Note: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]​