Round-Up of Kid CD's --- Makes Great Stocking Stuffers! #MakingMyList

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Just in case you are trying to figure out a couple stocking stuffer ideas...  Or maybe you are looking for a couple of gift ideas for a teacher in your life.. Why not make a cute gift basket for the teacher, but include a cd for them to use to get excitement in the classroom???  Here is a list of some that have recently been released!  

Brady Rymer (who also plays with the Laurie Berkner Band and From Good Homes) makes music with a “rock and roll heart” (New York Times). Just Say Hi will be his seventh album for families, crowd-funded by Brady's legions of fans.

Every track on Just Say Hi! is an expansive and life-affirming musical experience, fueled by the joyful “Lil’ Wall of Sound.” Brady and The Little Band That Could play exuberantly with accordions, mandolin, acoustic guitar, keyboards, bass, drums, the occasional saxophone, and their friendly voices singing in harmony.

The musical richness of Just Say Hi! is supported by the members of the band, which includes Odetta's musical director and players from Bruce Springsteen’s Seeger Sessions rhythm section among them. Guest vocalists include Elizabeth Mitchell, Laurie Berkner and members of Recess Monkey.

Mister G will release a new album of English language original songs called The Bossy E on Tuesday, June 24th. The new songs on The Bossy E share Mister G's love of reading, learning, and unplugged creativity.

Mister G is a Parents’ Choice Gold Award-winning artist whose music has been dubbed “irresistible” by People magazine, and “a top choice for libraries” by School Library Journal.Spanning genres from surf rock and bluegrass, to funk and world music, the 10 original songs on The Bossy E are a celebration of language, learning and creativity.  Guest artists on The Bossy E include Charles Neville (Neville Brothers), Massamba Diop (Baaba Maal) and Rani Arbo.

Mister G's mom, Karen Gundersheimer, is a children's book author. She's been calling him "Mister G" since he was a wee lad of 5. Mister G recently sat down with his mom to talk about reading and creativity; the interviews with her and a performance with Massamba Diop are on Mister G's YouTube channel.

Recorded by GRAMMY-winning producer Dean Jones, Key Wilde & Mr Clarke’s fourth family music album reflects an ongoing interest in animals. “I've been obsessed with them all my life,” muses Key Wilde, a musician-illustrator-art director whose wry animal images have appeared in magazines, newspapers and album covers. Wilde designed and illustrated a “Wildlife Wonders!” exhibit for the Central Park Conservancy. He also designs and illustrates media for TheWoodlands Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey. “The Bear Song,” which introduces all eight species of bears, was created for an international conference at The Woodlands last fall. An animated video of the song is getting thousands of spins.

Eric Herman, a nationally touring, award-winning family music artist and YouTube music video star, releases his first comedy album for kids ages 8 to 99.
Trout Fishing in America’s Ezra Idlet and Keith Grimwood, plus the Children’s Poet Laureate Kenn Nesbitt and award-winning touring music educator Roger Day are among the guest actors in this riotous radio theater style adventure.
A wide-ranging cast of voices, music and sound effects enhance these stories and songs from the XYZPDQ Satellite Radio Network. There’s a great variety of programming on the network, including the galaxy-traversing adventure story of Jupiter Jackson. “Hairy Scary” calls the play-by-plays for the hair-raising “Monster League Baseball” game between the Transylvania Blue Jays and the Chicago Smelly Sox.
Herman lampoons game shows with “The Math Game” and explores time travel on the NPR homage, “Monday Science,” which features children's entertainers John Hadfield and Rick Huddle. The airy Egyptian tale of Tutanophtun makes “Archaeology Hour” a gas. In between the featured tracks, on-location weather reports (Mad-Lib style), PSAs and a series of wacky advertisements are all part of the XYZPDQ programming. 

Sweet vocals, catchy melodies and heartfelt lyrics are the hallmarks of Willey’s style. The album opens with an invitation to celebrate the moment with “My Favorite Day.” “Gotta Lotta Happy” and other songs invite heart-opening gratitude for the joy of life, and the title track and others offer a path toward relaxation through words and yoga. A remix of “Colors” features new rhythms and the rousing voices of 75 kindergarten children recorded at a recent live performance at Donegan Elementary School in Bethlehem, PA.
On How To Be a Cloud, melody, lyrics and activity blend seamlessly together. Willey’s bright and easy instructions on the bonus tracks are simply suggestions ; children, parents and teachers may explore other movements to go along with each song, as Willey remarks in the liner notes. At a time when schools are dropping both music and physical fitness from the curriculum, songs like these can provided much-needed moments of movement and tranquility during the busy day.
“Kids need to move their bodies; it’s how they learn best,” notes Kira, who is also the mother of three children. “And music is a great way to get them moving. Tell a child to do something, and you may encounter resistance--but start singing, or use a catchy melody, and kids are suddenly engaged and having fun!”