Servings from the Cereal Bowl

Music for kids and their parents

By Dave Loftin

Dog on Fleas

Beautiful World

© 2008 Dog on Fleas

The music of Dog on Fleas (Dean Jones, John Hughes and Chris Cullo) is nearly impossible to categorize—a fact that’s even more evident on their fifth release, Beautiful World. That said, this latest offering from Dog on Fleas is just short of spectacular. The disc includes more instruments than you can shake a stick at, and the range of topics for the songs is quite impressive. The title track kicking off the CD is a sort of world-music, indie-pop folk jam, opening kids’ minds to an orchestra of musical styles and instruments. “Star Tonight” is a funky little tune mixing great electronic sounds and near-tribal percussion. And you don’t want to miss “Water Planet,” a tune that sounds as if it were captured from a NASA satellite beaming from a far-off planet. (Either that, or Dean Jones was once the understudy of electronic/kids’ music pioneer Bruce Haack.) From start to finish, Beautiful World is simply a fun batch of tunes the entire family can enjoy.  P.S.: Listen for cameos from Uncle Rock and Frances England.

Johnny Bregar

Dragonfly

© 2008 Brickyard Music

Johnny Bregar’s music has been described as “organic”—it’s not necessarily folk music, but it’s not rock, either. On his third children’s release, Dragonfly, Bregar delivers some very positive, musically brilliant tunes for kids. “Two Thumbs Up,” for example, is a terrific little tune about just having an all-around good day and making sure it stays that way. “Ice Cream Man” is a great cover of that classic by John Brim. (Yeah, I had to look that up, too, because all I could think of was the Van Halen song—and I knew that wasn’t right.) You and the kids will be swinging all around the house to the funky R&B style on “What Do You Do?” Johnny Bregar continues to write songs that kids can relate to, but with a musical expertise that, like that of a select few artists, exposes kids to some awesome genres of music. Dragonfly is a must-have for your family.

Spanglish Wrangler

Spanglish Sing-Along!

© 2008 Will Thomas/Stone Lumber Music (ASCAP)

Have you ever wanted to get your kids to learn a foreign language, but thought it might be a little too hard to get them to learn? Enter the Spanglish Wrangler (aka Will Thomas).  Thomas’ bluesy, funky multilingual tunes will not only plant some Spanish phrases in your kids’ heads, but they also reflect what many kids live with: English and Spanish being spoken together in their home. My favorite tune from Spanglish Sing-Along! is “Cucaracha,” about a boy in his room hoping the cockroach he saw goes away. Oh yeah—the song is sung to the tune of “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. Kids can also learn how to count days in Spanish with the song “Feliz Cumpleaños.” From start to finish, Spanglish Sing-Along! will help get kids interested in learning more Spanish words and phrases. Plus, it’s a great collection of tunes for any occasion.