Servings from the Cereal Bowl: Music for kids and their parents

by Dave Loftin

Little Miss Ann
Clap for Love
© 2008 Ann Torralba
Little Miss Ann (Ann Torralba) hit the kids’ music scene in 2006 with her debut, Music For Tots. Her sophomore release shows more rock ’n’ roll influence, but it still holds onto the folk sound. The CD gently wakes kids up with the soft and sweet tune, “Good Morning.” Following the folk-rock songs “Stand Up” and “Mockingbird,” Little Miss Ann delivers a wonderful indie-rock rendition of “This Little Heart of Mine.” Overall, Clap for Love has an uplifting feel; you can’t help but smile and feel a little bit warmer inside, especially as Ann breaks into the title track. Clap for Love will quickly become a favorite for your entire family—and may stay in the CD player for a long time.

ScribbleMonster
Songs With No Character
© 2008 ScribbleSongs Entertainment, The ScribbleBooks Co., Inc.
ScribbleMonster & His Pals have a couple of great kids’ releases under their belts. The “pals” include ScribbleMonster, ScribbleKitty, ScribblePiggy, ScribbleBunny . . . you get the idea. But when front man Jim Dague wanted an album the entire family could enjoy, he left the pals at home and put together Songs With No Character, a CD heaving with great pop-rock for everyone, no matter what their age. After opening with a very chipper (yet funny) “good morning” song, he welcomes us with “All Ready to Go!” The next track, “Doing the Right Thing Isn’t Always Easy, Doing the Easy Thing Isn’t Always Right”—take a breath—is a funky little tune that sounds like it was ripped from The Commitments soundtrack. A few tracks later, “The Song of LIFE” takes us on a trek around the Game of Life board with the little blue husband, who doesn’t care what “Life” throws at him—he’s just happy with his little pink wife and kids (but no more than four, or they won’t fit in the car). Probably the coolest song ever written about a board game.
Randy Kaplan
Loquat Rooftop
© 2008 Yellow Things Records & Books
Randy Kaplan is another artist taking elements of folk, blues and rock and delivering an amazing collection of songs. Loquat Rooftop, his second release for children, gets the kids up and ready with the bluesy, twangy “Good Morning Blues.” “Clothes Dryer” carries you away to a lazy summer day in the Louisiana bayou, as Kaplan sings the story of how he learned how to wash his clothes. And if you’ve wondered what it would sound like if someone sang “Charlie Brown” at the Grand Ole Opry, you can hear it here. There’s even a great rendition (with kids singing along) of “Move It On Over.” Stick around for the end of the disc as he offers up a slow and lovely mandolin and horn version of “Tomorrow.” Loquat Rooftop wraps up very nicely with the slide guitar- and harmonica-heavy song “Gotta Get Gone.” Randy Kaplan has a gift of performing songs with lyrics kids will enjoy and music their parents will really dig.