Various Artists
Motown for Kids
© 2008 Motown Records
The world of kids’ music is teeming with tunes that were never written for children, but are perfectly suitable for young ears. Universal Music Group has a brand-new collection of discs that fall under this category. One of the best is Motown for Kids. The disc leaps out of the gate with Stevie Wonder’s “Uptight (Everything’s Alright).” The upbeat dance party continues from there and keeps going strong through the final track, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” from Marvin Gaye. I’ve often said that Motown is a genre sadly missing from most kids’ music collections, and Motown Records has provided a wonderful assortment of tunes to get the tots started on a new musical journey.

Dan Zanes & Friends
¡Nueva York!
© 2008 Festival Five Records, LLC
Dan Zanes (along with a host of friends) is back with his latest collection of folk/world music. ¡Nueva York! takes kids on a romp through the world of Latino music, offering up a wide sampling of styles from Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico and South America. The first song to tickle your ears is “El Pescador,” a Colombian classic that led to Zanes’ conception of this album. The band slides into the next track, “Colas,” played in the son jarocho style from Verecruz, Mexico. “Pollito Chicken” is a great little tune I believe is guaranteed to teach kids eight Spanish words. Many people have asked Zanes why “Mi Luna,” the CD’s closing tune, is a good song for kids. His reply? “Because it’s beautiful.” ¡Nueva York! includes a cavalcade of Latin music stars, including Villa-Lobos Brothers, La Cumbiamba eNeYé, and Sonia de los Santos, just to name a few. This disc could heat up your dance floor at home as cooler weather rolls in.

Various Artists
Putumayo Kids Presents: Sesame Street Playground
© 2008 Putumayo World Music, Inc.
No matter how old you are, if you grew up on Sesame Street (not literally, of course— though that would have been awesome!), you know the show always offered up some great tunes. Sesame Street is now closing in on its 40th anniversary, and since it began in the fall of ’69, it has found its way into ever corner of the world. Putumayo Kids (known for great world music for the younger crowd) has compiled a massive group of songs from a few of the countries that air Sesame Street. The compilation starts with the show’s theme song from The Netherlands, “Sesamstraat.” Next we have songs from South Africa, China and France, as well as from Palestine and Israel (these tracks are placed back-to-back). In addition to the great music, this disc comes with a DVD which includes video versions of a few of the CD tracks. Putumayo Kids never ceases to amaze me with the songs they unearth to expand our children’s minds.

Visit Dave Loftin and have a serving from his cereal bowl at www.wawl.org and read his weekly playlists on SMCB.BlogSpot.com