"Little Bitty Baby (A Cumulative Song)" - Elizabeth Mitchell and Friends

Artist: Elizabeth Mitchell and Friends 

Song: "Little Bitty Baby (A Cumulative Song)" 

Album: The Sounding Joy 

Description:  As a general rule, I have a strong aversion to listening to Christmas and holiday music when it's more than 100 degrees out.  Such is the occupational hazard of a music reviewer in the Sonoran Desert.  But I'm willing to make the sacrifice for Elizabeth Mitchell's long-awaited holiday album.  The Sounding Joy  uses songs from Ruth Crawford Seeger's out-of-print 1953 songbook American Folk Songs for Christmas .  Based on the song Folkways has posted for streaming, this seems like it's going to be a very festive and joyful album.  And, yes, it works even in 107-degree weather.

Source: Smithsonian Folkways  / Soundcloud

Neighbor to Neighbor: Family Music for Sandy Relief - Various Artists

Artist​: Various Artists

Album: Neighbor to Neighbor: Family Music for Sandy Relief​

Description:​ Produced by Laurie McIntosh AKA Story Laurie, the Neighbor to Neighbor project is a benefit album raising funds for ongoing relief work in the Rockaways & Lindenhurst, Long Island in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.  Ten bucks gets you tracks from a big group of kindie favorites like Dan Zanes, Pete Seeger, Key Wilde & Mr. Clarke, Gustafer Yellowgold, and... oh, just take a listen.

Source:​ Bandcamp

Rabbit Days and Dumplings Sampler - Elena Moon Park and Friends

Artist: Elena Moon Park and Friends

Album: Rabbit Days and Dumplings

Description: It's a five-song sampler, not the whole enchilada ("whole kimchi"? "whole spring roll"?), but if you're not sure that an album of Dan Zanes-influenced family-friendly songs from Asia is quite your thing (though I think for a number of you, the answer is "yes"), take a listen.  I especially like track #7 ("Poong Nyun Ga," a Korean harvest song, which is a rousing sing-along), but there's a lot of stylistic diversity on the tracks and it's worth your time.

Source: Rabbit Days website