Good Readin' for Yer Little'uns!

Every once in a while it's fun to let my salaried occupation leak over into this world of kiddierock blogging, because I feel like children's music and literature can and should be intertwined in the library and at home. So, here at the quarter-year mark, I present to you my list of the best of the best in kidlit (so far).

Picture Books:

Alfred Digs, Lindsay Barrett George (Greenwillow Books)

An adventure through the alphabet. Alfred tunnels through a dictionary in pursuit of his pet ant, Itty Bitty, who wants to go to the zoo (A to Z!).

Hello, Day!, Anita Lobel (Greenwillow Books)

Lobel's classic and charmingly simple illustrations describe how animals greet the new day and welcome another night. Perfect Toddler Time or bedtime picture book.

How I Learned Geography, Uri Shulevitz (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)

Shulevitz's inspirational, poignant, poetic picture book memoir will make a fascinating read-aloud for middle grade students, and give a kick in the pants to anyone who thinks their own life ain't so good.

Little Hoot, Amy Krouse Rosenthal, ill. Jen Corace (Chronicle Books)

The classic switcheroo: An owl doesn't want to stay up all night like Mom and Dad say, he wants to hit the sack early, like his little owl buddies. Hoot begrudgingly plays until he's finally allowed some shuteye. Reverse psychology at its cutest.

No! That's Wrong!, Cui Xu (Kane/Miller)

A heeelarious story about a rabbit wearing underwear as a hat, not understanding, of course, that it's underwear. Every animal he meets admires his new hat, while an "off camera" narrator keeps insisting "No! That's wrong. It's not a hat." Great interactive read-aloud!

Non-Fiction:

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball, Kadir Nelson (Hyperion)

In a perfect world, this book would win the Newbery and the Caldecott for 2008. Nelson tells the story of the Negro Leagues in the authentic voice of a fellow baseball player. This'll make you love baseball even if you had no prior interest, and Nelson's text and illustrations will make longtime fans of the game swoon.

Fiction:

Jellaby, Kean Soo (Hyperion)

This graphic novel introduces a character who is vulnerable, protective, empathetic, brave, and totally lovable. GREAT adventure story for younger readers who aren't quite ready for a scary adventure.

My Dad's a Birdman, David Almond (Walker Books)

Fantastical, funny, heartwarming/breaking, lovely. Almond's Dahl-like story and Dunbar's illustrations combine magically in this tale of trust, nurturing, and, well, silliness!

Shooting the Moon, Frances O'Roark Dowell (Atheneum)

Fifth and sixth graders will be able to get their heads around the seriousness of the subject matter (sibling in Viet Nam war), but it's written in a way that will draw them in, as well. In other words, this isn't another one of those heavy books for kids that only adults will read.

The Willoughbys, Lois Lowry (Walter Lorraine Books)

Sure, we Children's Librarians will get a kick out of Lowry's tongue-in-cheek fun with classic kid lit scenarios (I laughed out loud several times), but tweens (and even younger grades, as a read-aloud) will be in on the joke, as well, and may even pick up a couple of the novels listed in the annotated bibliography!

Lunch Money live at Donnell !

Oh, man, are we excited! This is it, folks, the last big kindie rock blowout at the Donnell Central Children's Room before we have to vacate the premises. Lunch Money is fast becoming a critics' and musicians' favorite, and I've heard a couple o' rumors about some "names" showing up for this show, so if yer anywhere near NYC on Saturday, April 12 @ 3:30pm, pop in and join the fun. Hope to see you there!

Friday Free-for-All # 6

Our sixth quick overview of recent kids' music:

Astrograss, Let Me Stay Up All Night

Brooklyn's purveyors of bluegrass for kids finally release their first full-length CD. Their specialty in concert is putting Shel Silverstein lyrics to bluegrass music, and on this CD, although there are no Shel poems, Astrograss display their influences openly and proudly, including the lyrical playfullness of Silverstein and the wit of John Hartford, grandfather of "newgrass". Great covers of "Drunken Sailor" and Oh! Susanna", along with over a dozen originals. Wonderful fun!


Joe McDermott, Everybody Plays Air Guitar

The fourth kids' CD from Austin, Texas-based McDermott continues his string of pop rock hits for the little ones. Dig the powerpop title track and the doo-wop rewrite of "I've Been Workin' on the Railroad". And this is one busy guy: Along with recording children's tunes, McDermott scores video games and educational DVDs, and often performs his songs live with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. Rock on!

***Andy Mason***

Sometimes old-school is cool ... Fred Rogers, Bob McGrath, Ella Jenkins ... those folks kept it simple and sincere, fun and meaningful. The same goes for Andy Mason's Everybody Likes Pizza!, an album of originals and covers that's a throwback to kids' music when it only came in LP form, featuring Mason's vocals and acoustic guitar ... only!

Mason hails from Clovis, NM, home of Norman Petty's recording studio where Buddy Holly cut some of his biggest hits. Andy's no stranger to the music biz himself: He and fellow musician Joshua Belter have recorded and toured as acoustic duo Fast Time Constant for about ten years, and Mason jams with Clovis-based roots rockers Fun Brothers Band.

Andy extols the joys of family pizza night on the title track, and follows up with the positive affirmation "You Can Be Anything (If You Try)". Mason's "ZYX..." may not exactly be Moose Charlap's "Backwards Alphabet" from the 1966 TV production of Alice Through the Looking Glass, but it's silly fun just the same. Mason rewrites another well-known ditty with his own "The Birthday Song"; while "The Owee Song" not only presents a picture of an injury prone kid, it provides an entertaining way to practice the days of the week. "How to Make a Burrito" is, well, instructions on how to make a burrito, including the dangers of using too many jalapenos.

Mason closes the album with four choice covers: a fiery version of Richard and Robert Sherman's "I Wanna Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" from Disney's 1967 film The Jungle Book; Claire Senior Burke's "Robin in the Rain"; "Shake My Sillies Out" by Raffi and Bert & Bonnie Simpson (man, I had no idea it took three people to write that song!); and David Mallett's classic "Garden Song" (aka "Inch by Inch").

This is old fashioned children's music in the best possible sense: pare it down to the basics and let the songwriting and arrangements shine through. You can tell from the interactive and singalong nature of his songs that what you have here is a snapshot of Andy's live show. It would be interesting to hear Mason's half-dozen originals performed with a full band, but as it is, six strings and a voice are all he needs to make a great kids' album.

Astrograss live at Donnell !!!

We are VERY excited to have Astrograss perform at our Shel-ebration! on Saturday, April 5! They'll kick off the afternoon of Shel Silverstein and poetry with a concert at 2:30pm. After the show, we'll have crafts, activities, and refreshments, and a copy of Don't Bump the Glump!, Silverstein's newly rereleased first book of poetry and drawings, will be given away as a door prize!

If you're in town or have friends and family nearby, everyone is welcome!

Happy Easter !

***Mr. Leebot***

Wanna try something different? Mr. Leebot combines the minimalist weirdness of Bruce Haack and The Residents with the quirky pop sensibilities of DEVO and They Might Be Giants to create his debut kids' album Activate!, quite possibly the best New Wave CD for children on the market!

Now, Mr. Leebot's style didn't just spontaneously burst into being. Austin, TX, resident Lee Davila has stirred the musical pot with several spoons: Check out Davila's other projects, including the now-defunct The Grown-Ups, and especially his totally awesome current grownup band Manager's Choice. You can hear Davila's Ska and New Wave influences run throughout all his musical endeavours, including his kids' CD.

The party begins with the latest dance craze "Ants in the Pants", followed by Mr. Leebot's somber theme song, um, "Mr. Leebot". "Brock Brock Chicky" sounds slight at first listen, but it's really about the universal possibilities of communication, despite our differences. And everyone's proud of the day they became a "Bathtub Superstar" and could bathe themselves without Mom or Dad's help.

Then there's "C'mon Sun"'s manic call to play, while children strive for proper behavior in the potential hit single and DEVO homage "Good Bot" (oughta be #1 with a bullet on XM Kids!). The Country & Western rave up "Hot Diggity" is Mr. Leebot's version of "Walkin' On Sunshine", followed by another DEVO-style ditty, "Timeout Time", about trying to stay out of trouble (the coda-in-round is pretty cool!).

The spare (vocals & twangy electric guitar only) "I Want a Car" could be an unearthed outtake from Buddy Holly's catalog, while Mr. Leebot ventures into Ween territory with the droogy reggae of "Dig Up the Roots", which initially seems to be about trees and flowers but is actually about family ties.

The album closes with DEVO tribute number three, "Power Up!" (Davila really has the Mothersbaugh vocal style down pat!); then "Fastest Horse", a Riders in the Sky-like ode to being best buds; and finally "Come On Along", a for-sure Nickelodeon or Noggin program intro.

When it comes down to it, though, these songs are about the kinds of things that are a big part of kids' lives: Imagination, dancing, manners, family, being understood, and just feeling good. His sound might not be for everybody, but the kids who dig it will be rabid fans, for sure.

Y'now, if "Square Pegs" ever gets remade as the next retro sitcom (a la "That 70's Show"), Mr. Leebot should provide the soundtrack. I wouldn't be surprised if you heard his stuff on a Dunkin' Donuts commercial or as a kids' TV theme song. Listen for more good things from this guy in the future.