By John Hoffman Baby Lullaby Berceuse, Connie Kaldor and Carmen Campagne, Warner Brothers 1989.
There are lots of wonderful lullaby albums around, but if I had to pick one, this would be it — beautiful singing, great arrangements and a nice mix of familiar and less familiar tunes. Toddler/ Preschool Raffi in Concert with the Rise and Shine Band, Troubadour Music 1989. Raffi is “da man” in children’s music. Most people would have picked his legendary and influential first recording, Singable Songs for the Very Young. However, this live album is more listenable by today’s standards and contains most of Raffi’s best songs. Say Hello to The Morning, Kathy Reid-Naiman, Merriweather Records 1999.
It’s hard to imagine that two decades after Raffi’s first recording somebody could find something new and refreshing in children’s music. Reid-Naiman’s strength is that she’s one of the few performers still concentrating on songs that parents can easily learn and sing with their kids. Preschool/ School Age One Elephant, Deux Elephants, Sharon, Lois & Bram, Casablanca Kids, Elephant Records 1978.
Another legendary act who helped set the standard for quality children’s music. This collection, which became the fastest-selling children’s album in Canadian history, contains several classics, including “Skinnamarink” and the title track. Collections, Fred Penner (reissued as Fred's Favourites), Casablanca Kids, 1993.
Penner is the other member of Canada’s big three. This best-of compilation includes hits like “The Cat Came Back” and “Sandwiches,” along with my personal fave, “Poco.” The Little White Duck & Other Children’s Favorites, Burl Ives, Columbia 1960.
Much of the best children’s music of the last 30 years owes a lot to the tradition laid down by Ives on this recording. Free to Be You and Me, Marlo Thomas and Friends, Arista 1972.
This recording, featuring a celebrity cast headed by Marlo Thomas, cut new ground in 1972 when it challenged gender stereotypes in child rearing. Those messages still resonate today. Children’s Concert at Town Hall, Pete Seeger, Sony 1963.
Seeger also helped bring children’s music into the mainstream and set the standard for treating juvenile audiences with the same respect paid to adults. This live album includes the two best story songs of all-time: “Abiyoyo” and “The Foolish Frog.” Sesame Street Platinum: All-Time Favorites, Sesame Street, Sony 1995.
We can’t forget all the great music pumped out by the Sesame Street machinery. This collection includes classics like “Rubber Duckie,” “C Is for Cookie” and “I Love Trash.” A Duck in New York City, Connie Kaldor, La montagne secrète 2003.
This recent collection by one of Canada’s better songwriters provides further proof that the best children’s music was not all recorded in the previous millennium. School Age Une voix pour les enfants, Carmen Campagne, MCA 1990.
This songstress, from Willow Bunch, Sask., produced some of the finest French-language children’s recordings in the world, and some of Canada’s best kids’ music in any language. Beethoven Lives Upstairs, Classical Kids, Children’s Group 1989.
Sue Hammond, creator of Classical Kids, rules when it comes to accessible classical recordings for children. This CD — the story of Beethoven through the eyes of his landlady’s son — launched the series. Family Tree, Tom Chapin, Sony 1988.
“This Pretty Planet,” one of the tracks on this album, still reigns as both the best environmental song, and the best round (where people start singing at different intervals to create harmony) ever written. Peter and the Wolf, Boris Karloff and Leonard Bernstein, Sony 1960.
Karloff’s version of Prokofiev’s classic work gets the nod over all the rest. It’s been rereleased by Vanguard Classics with Haydn’s Toy Symphony and Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. Family
(primarily school age with adult appeal as well) Junior Jugband, Ken and Chris Whiteley, Troubadour Music (out of print).
As a producer, Ken Whiteley helped define the sound of Raffi and many other performers. This unique recording, made with his brother Chris, though out of print, is still fondly regarded by the cognoscenti of children’s music. Family Music Party, Trout Fishing in America, Trout Records 1998.
This duo from Arkansas, all but unknown in Canada, produce some of the most entertaining and funny family music ever. Songs like “18 Wheels on a Big Rig” and “What I Want Is a Proper Cup of Coffee” appeal to adults every bit as much as kids. Something’s Fishy at Camp Wiganishe, Al Simmons, Casablanca Kids, 1993.
Simmons, a postmodern vaudevillian who hails from Anola, Man., may just be the world’s most inventive family entertainer as this, his debut recording, demonstrates. Mail Myself to You, John McCutcheon, Rounder 1988.
McCutcheon specializes in not “playing down” to children. His Appalachian-influenced style works for adults (especially folkies) as well. Raffi’s Christmas Album, Raffi, Troubadour Music 1983.
My kids are way too old for this album and I still put it on every year. Enough said. Air Guitar, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer, High Windy Audio 1993.
This duo from the Washington, DC, area finally won a Grammy in 2003 after nine nominations. All their albums are good but I picked this one because “Wherever You Go” is the nicest love song from a parent to a child I’ve ever heard. John Hoffman is a father of three who has worked professionally as a children’s performer and reviewed children’s music for Today’s Parent for more than 10 years. | 
