Apple Apple - The Harmonica Pocket

Artist: The Harmonica Pocket

Album: Apple Apple

Age Range: 2 to 6

Description: Dreamy and moody, the latest album from Seattle-area duo The Harmonica Pocket is more muted than a lot of albums targeted at preschoolers.  Not downbeat, mind you, but any album that takes the major chord bluegrass standard "Turkey in the Straw" and slows it down and gives it a hypnotic non-major chord rewrite is not the album you'll use for your home-based dance party (or at least your wilder ones).  Instead, the 48-minute acoustic album (featuring help from Kindiependent friends Johnny Bregar, Jack Forman, and Caspar Babypants, among others) offers up subtler wordplay takes on standard toddler topics (moms, moons, and monkeys).  It's got a bit of sense of humor, too -- "Diaperman" is as sweet-smelling as its topic sometimes isn't.  Recommended.   (Listen to the album here.)

[Disclosure: I received a copy of the album for possible review.]

Augie to Zebra (An Alphabet Book): Kate Endle & Caspar Babypants

Artist: Kate Endle & Caspar Babypants

Book: Augie to Zebra (An Alphabet Book!)

Age Range: 3 through 6

Description: The title of the third book from wife-and-husband team of Kate Endle and Chris Ballew pretty much says it all.  Alliterative activities featuring kids playing with animals, highlighted by Endle's delightful collage-work (among my favorites, the feline jug band featured in "Josie jams with jaguars.").  And, as you may surmise from that example, besides the repeating letters, 4-through-6-year-olds will have fun finding other items in each illustration that also start with the relevant letter.  The accompanying free mp3 for the book (available here) is nice, but tied as it is to the non-story (but literal) text, isn't particularly exciting.  In any case, fans of the previous two books from the duo will likely be pleased with this new entry.

My Neighborhood - Johnny Bregar

Artist: Johnny Bregar

Album: My Neighborhood

Age Range: 4-9

Description:  "He [has] brought enough guests to his Bainbridge Island studio to make his rootsy Americana with a hint of bluegrass seem like a small party.  There's a mellow, soulful vibe to the album's best tracks, even a bit of wistfulness at points... Highly recommended. " / Full review / Listen