Els Transports (Transportation) - Various Artists (Minimúsica)

Artist: Various Artists (Minimúsica)

Album: Els Aliments (Food)

Description:  The second collection of kid-friendly indie-pop from Barcelona-based label Sones and their Minimúsica offshoot, this 2011 compilation focuses on transportation-based themes.  I love "Autobús" but there are a lot of very fun tracks, even the ones about dreamboats, which I think might be stretching the definition of transportation just a bit.  As I noted in my 2011 review of this album and its predecessor, these songs need to end up on a Putumayo collection somewhere.  Another stellar collection of kindie for your bilingual preschooler.  Or even your monolingual preschooler.

Source: Bandcamp

Els Aliments (Food) - Various Artists (Minimúsica)

Artist: Various Artists (Minimúsica)

Album: Els Aliments (Food)

Description:  The first collection of kid-friendly indie-pop from Barcelona-based label Sones and their Minimúsica offshoot, this 2010 compilation focuses on food themes.  As I noted in my 2011 review of this album and its successor, these songs need to end up on a Putumayo collection somewhere.  So much fun, without a doubt this is Spanish/Catalan kindie ("Cindie"?).

Source: Bandcamp

123s and ABCs Sampler - Ella Jenkins

Artist: Ella Jenkins

Album: 123s and ABCs (sampler)

Description: When Ella has a new album coming out, darn tootin' I'm going to let you know about it.  Set to be released January 28, it's a collection of previously released number- and letter-based songs from the Chicago-area legend.  Listen to 3 tracks from the album at the link below.

Source: Smithsonian Folkways

More! More! More! - Bunny Clogs

Artist: Bunny Clogs

Album: More! More! More!

Description: Oh, how I do like myself this here Bunny Clogs album.  The side project of the Honeydogs' Adam Levy, it's a deliciously odd mix of sounds, styles, and funkiness (would you expect anything else from Minnesota, home to both Prince and Garrison Keillor)?  "At its best, the album recalls the family-friendly community-celebrating vibe of Dan Zanes." (Read the full review.)

Source: Bandcamp

Swordfish Tango - Pointed Man Band

Artist: Pointed Man Band

Album: Swordfish Tango

Description: "A combination of Tom Waits and Shel Silverstein, the Beatles and Parisian cafes, the music smells of hardwood floors and flannel and wood construction blocks.  Let's put it this way - it's an album that besides featuring a song about an invisible duck and Western Washington witches, it includes a song about dancing without pants -- in French." (Read the rest of the brief review.)

Source: Bandcamp

"In All of the World" - Papa Crow

Artist: Papa Crow

Song: "In All of the World"

Album: Full Moon, Full Moon

Description: A mellow track emphasizing the universality of emotions from the Michigan-based musician, who says he wrote the song "sitting by the plastic kiddie pool" on the 4th of July in 2010, long before his fine debut album Things That Roar came out.  A hint of Van Morrison in the song, which'll be on Papa Crow's upcoming album, due out later this year.

Source: Soundcloud

"Freight Train" - Elizabeth Cotten

Artist:  Elizabeth Cotten

Song: "Freight Train"

Album: Freight Train and Other North Carolina Folk Songs and Tunes

Description: An all-time classic, kids or otherwise, performed by its creator, Elizabeth Cotten, who came to national attention relatively late in life after she -- entirely coincidentally -- found herself working for Ruth Crawford Seeger..  It's from the reissue of Cotten's first album, recently reissued by Smithsonian Folkways.

Colour It - Helen Austin

Artist: Helen Austin

Album: Colour It

Description: Another album of kid-friendly pop from the Vancouver Island artist.  Like its predecessor, Always Be a Unicorn, there's a music-box quality to the songs, and a majority of the songs are essentially love songs that could be (or maybe even were) repurposed from an "adult" love song.  Bright and sunny, even in this, the darkest time of the year.

Source: Bandcamp