You Are My Little Print

By the way, it's too late for Christmas, but the awesome cover to Liz Mitchell's awesome You Are My Little Bird CD is now available in a limited edition run of 250. It's autographed and comes with a copy of the CD. (Which, since you probably have the CD, you can give away to some other person who'll be blown away by the album.)

You can get the print through the cover artist Ida Pearle's website.

The Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time: Songs 46-50

So here's the first installment of my quixotic attempt to produce a list of the Top 50 Kids Songs of All Time.

In general this list is supposed to produce a list of songs familiar to a wide range of kids, at least in English-speaking North America. (OK, I realize that's not quite so wide.) As we approach #1, the songs are more likely to be "classics," recorded multiple times, and familiar enough to people for them to join in singing spontaneously. Which is not to say that more recent and more recording-focused tunes won't make the list, just that they're probably more the exception than the rule.

And remember, if you haven't entered the contest to pick the top five, go do so now.

Without any further ado, then, here we go...

50. "Bicycle" - The Jellydots: Did I say this song wouldn't make this list? OK, I changed my mind. Of course, a lot of the Jellydots' tunes were written to help teacher guitar to kids, so maybe 20 years from now some 10-year-old kid will jam out on her own guitar to this. (Listen at the Jellydots' Myspace page.)

49. "Tricycle" - Lunch Money: "This tricycle / Was my brother's tricycle / And that's why it has / This dent in the fender." Lunch Money's debut Silly Reflection is a small gem of a CD and I could've picked any one of a half-dozen excellent songs here, but this one is the most accessible and relatable to kids and their parents. (Listen at Lunch Money's lyrics page for "Tricycle".)

48. "Car Car" - Woody Guthrie: Hard to believe this song is, what, 50 years old? Covered by Elizabeth Mitchell on You Are My Sunshine (with a "beep beep" that still makes us swivel our heads every time we listen to it in the car), it's still timely today. (Listen to a sample of Woody's version here.)

47. "Yellow Bus" - Justin Roberts: Roberts is one of the top 2 or 3 crafters of kids pop tunes working today. This track is a fine example of his folk-pop talent merged with his ample sense of humor -- kids and parents might not necessarily sing his music on their own all the time, but they'll definitely sing along. (Listen to a sample here.)

46. "Trot Ol' Joe" - traditional: An excellent example -- the first of many -- of songs that have been shaped through the years to fit slightly different melodies and lyrics. Also an excellent example of songs to combine with physical movements with toddlers. Love the "whoooooaaa, Joe" part.

Final note: Note the common thread here? Yes, all these songs deal with modes of transportation. No, the rest of the list will not be organized quite so neatly.

Melissa Block's CD Changer and Ours Look Similar

To those of you visiting here from Melissa Block's post on CDs her family's been enjoying, welcome. You'll find over 140 reviews of CDs here (all accessible from the artist links on the right-hand side of the page), plus news and interviews squeezed in whenever I can find the time.

For what it's worth, you can follow the links below to my reviews of the albums Melissa lists...

-- Catch That Train! - Dan Zanes and Friends (review / interview)
-- You Are My Little Bird - Elizabeth Mitchell (review)
-- New Orleans Playground - Various Artists / Putumayo (review)
-- Alphabet Songs - Steve Weeks (Vol. 2 review, Vol. 3 review)
-- The Johnny Cash Children's Album - Johnny Cash (review)
-- Whoever Shall Have Some Good Peanuts - Sam Hinton (review)

And thanks for stopping by!

You Are My Little Songbook

Want to rock out on "Little Liza Jane," just like Elizabeth Mitchell did with Daniel and Storey on You Are My LIttle Bird? (Handclaps optional.)

Well now you can -- sort of -- as Mitchell has put together chords and lyrics for 9 of the tracks off that stellar CD and matched them with lovely drawings from Ida Pearle (who did the artwork for the album).

Get the songbook here. Songbooks for the other Mitchell CDs (and perhaps more songs off this CD) are in the works.

Radio, Radio

Heads up, people. Elizabeth Mitchell will be on the second hour of NPR's All Things Considered today (Friday). Go here later today for the link to the story.

Good on her.

Update: NPR interview here. My review of You Are My Little Bird here. And everything Elizabeth Mitchell here at the website (including my reviews of her other CDs for kids and families) here. And, if you're new here, once you finish with all that, explore a bit -- there's lots of other great music to be found here.