Thomas Starks Kids MusicChildren's Music Reviews & Lyrics

 Sesame Street first hit the air in 1969 and despite major changes in trends, society and the environment in the last 41 years Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie and a host of other Muppet’s and humans are still as relevant today as back then.

The show was set up with a list of advisers and children’s psychologists working tirelessly to produce a show that would encompass educational and moral values for all levels of children no matter what their socio-economic background. The strengths of the show are its animation, writing and songs. People that have children know that to educate them you must first grab their attention and keep it. Geniuses like Frank Oz, Jim Henson and Joe Rapaso established the blueprint for what is a timeless children’s educational tool.

Songs from the show have earnt eight Grammy’s and are known and cherished by numerous generations such as the Sesame Street theme song Can You Tell me How to Get to Sesame Street which is best described as simplistic genius. Rubber Duckie sung by the character Ernie was popular upon its release in the 1970’s but actually charted in Germany in 1996 and is now available as a free music download. C is for Cookie was one of my favorites as a child while the song Sing was recorded later by The Carpenters.

For parents and careers of children you can do no better than to put on some Sesame Street and everything will be A-OK as they laugh, sing and play with all the gang that have been helping rear the world’s children for over four decades.

Below is a video of the song Can You Tell me How to Get to Sesame Street:

The Backyardigans!

Nick. Jr has always been helping kids get into music early, but not in the way you would first assume. Rather than having kids memorize specific songs from their favorite programs intentionally, certain shows target other senses. Remember Blues Clues? That helped kids with their memories and cognitive functions. The Backyardigans helps them with remembering melodies.

The songs in the show are all original pieces and free music is now available online for every kid out there to enjoy. Usually each episode has three or four songs and kids will pick up on them. There’s a catchy theme song when the show begins and whenever they’re ready to go on an adventure together, and they certainly love adventures!

The show is about five best friends who hang out in their backyards and use the power of their imagination to go on wild and crazy adventures. Pablo, Tyrone, Uniqua, Tasha, and Austin are really exploring the confines of a yard, but to everybody watching, they could be in space, under the sea, or even in the future. The great thing is that the songs in the show will all be about where they are and what they’re doing. They’re always new and exciting!

Their music adventures are definitely a great way for kids to get in tune with new melodies!

If you believe that there is a void in your child’s toys which needs to be filled with educational media, than Baby Einstein is for you. Baby Einstein was formed from the imagination of Julie Clark, a real mom that wanted to nourish her baby’s imagination in a new way. Source: Baby Einstein Blog.

If you don’t own Baby Einstein, I suggest you get it from one of the free music downloads websites. Watch it with your child in the correct manner. Be interactive, it won’t do any harm. In fact it will stimulate the child’s mind more and enthuse them to learn more and instill a passion within him to expand his learning and exploration. You will surely appreciate the impact that it will have on your life.

Baby Einstein was created with the intention of allowing a parent and child to spend quality time together in which both, parent and child can relax, whilst the child’s mind is stimulated to explore the different objects around him/her.

According to a BabyBlog, the interactive activities displayed for children aged three months to three years “promotes pure joy, unspoiled delight in learning about all the amazing things the world holds in store…It will spark his curious, inquiring mind and inspire him with a lifelong passion, discovering the wonders of the great big world all around”. Created from a toddlers point of view, these Baby Einstein videos are colorful, interactive and displayed nothing more than a positive message, as can be seen in the short video below.

Sold to Disney in 1991, the now multi million dollar franchise began to use its increased finances to expand its educational themes to teach children about animals and their sounds, the seasons, first sounds, counting, world animals, language and a whole load of other concepts. According to Your Baby Wish, “the award winning Disney Baby Einstein collection connects the colors of the world to create a                multi-sensory learning resource in the form of DVDs for parents, infants and toddlers”. They allow a child to “discover the world around them through the use of real world objects, music, art, language, science, poetry and nature”. [School Specialist]

I can tell you that the relationship I have with my child has truly strengthened since we both began watching the Baby Einstein DVDs only just a few months ago. It allows me to spend quality time with my youngster and interact with him. The time frame in which I used to sit him in front of the TV whilst I carried on with some chores in the house, I now cherish as I joyfully watch him grow as we watch the Baby Einstein DVDs together.

A perfect choice for children aged 2-5, The Backyardigans is an animated Childrens TV Show, now also available in DVD, which features five animal friends who each have a wild imagination, fantasizing that their backyard transforms into a place full of exciting adventures. This new world is quite different to the one in which they live, and it’s here that they experience a day of learning and excitement,  before returning home for snack time.

Pablo…Pablo…PABLO, yes you got it! Pablo is definitely one of the friendly characters on the show. A blue and yellow penguin, Pablo gets himself very heavily involved in situations and issues that surround him. His best friend, the good natured mouse Tyrone, is the complete opposite. Unlike Pablo, this orange character leads a very laid back life. Uniqua is yet another friendly character on the show. Always dressed in pink, it’s quite surprising that she’s a tomboy. Like Uniqua, Tasha, the small yellow hippopotamus is a very sweet girl, yet also quite rational. Austin, the purple kangaroo, is originally shy, but overtime becomes more involved in the show, sharing his smart and imaginative mind with his new-found friends.

Check out this free music video of The Backyardigans that I found.

The show is very unique, with each episode featuring its own musical theme. According to Underthree, “Each half-hour episode of this Emmy® Award-winning show features a unique music/dance genre with four original songs, along with real choreographed movements recreated in animation”. Not only is the show creative in recreating its own songs specific to the musical theme, but it produces songs of that same musical genre and choreographs the dance moves to be of that same music style.

The episodes focus on music and dancing as much as they do on the stories. These story-driven musicals stimulate children to stretch their imagination together with these friendly characters, as they sing and dance along with them. “Kids will find themselves being sucked into the world of The Backyardigans’ imagination. The songs are all fun and energetic and I think the kids would love to sing and dance along”. [Backyardigan Review]. As quoted by Rave and Review, “As well as being catchy and cute, The Backyardigans is great because it teaches kids that you really are never bored if you’ve got an active imagination”.

If you don’t own The Backyardigans, be sure to purchase it for your children. You wouldn’t want them to miss out on the magical musical adventures of these 5 friendly animals.

Nursery rhymes have always played an important part in the life of children. But why? This is something that greatly startles me. Listen to the lyrics of each nursery rhyme. They all end in a tragic ending. It surprises me that we teach our children of such tragic stories which can leave them disturbed and give them nightmares. What were the older generations thinking when they taught these rhymes to us? And what are we thinking when we teach them to our children?

Take a look at Humpty Dumpty:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again

Feel free to listen to Humpty Dumpty on a free download music website and see whether you believe these nursery rhymes benefit a young child.

Does this nursery rhyme have any intellectual effect on a child or does it portray itself as a disturbing tragedy? It is true that Humpty Dumpty is actually a rhyme about an egg that fell off a wall and cracked, yet the part about the egg was left out from this rhyme. Unless a child is explicitly told that Humpty is an egg how is a child to know the reason for Humpty being so easily broken? It’s true that in pictures, such as the one above, Humpty is depicted as an egg, but in a childs mind it could just be a person dressed up as an egg.

Surprisingly, these nursery rhymes have taken such ‘control’ over our childrens lives that children request birthday cakes in the shape of Humpty. Technology has recreated Humpty Dumpty into a game on the iPad in which Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall and needs to be pieced back together again. Is this not a traumatic game for a child?

Humpty Dumpty is also known as a character in many other literary works including Lewis Caroll’s Though The Looking-Glass and Robert Penn Warren’s novel All The King’s Men.

Please feel free to tell me if you think I parents should be concerned or if I am being over cautious.

‘Chig Chig Chugga Chugga’, keep riding that red car up the hill and you’ll definitely notice a difference in your child’s character. At first the idea of poppin popcorn, cold spaghetti and dancing flowers might appear to be a whole load of nonsense, but these themes and songs which all erupt from The Wiggles, who are a positive influence for young children.

The Wiggles are a very enthusiastic and energetic musical group who enjoy developing and performing educational songs which keep children jumping on their feet. Their songs are a great choice for young children and toddlers. “The Wiggles exude joy and it is contagious”, quoted from genxmomsblog.

The education already begins with the unique representation of each of The Wiggles throughout with their eye catching skivvies which stimulate the children and allow them to immediately recognize each of their favorite Wiggles Characters; Anthony in blue, Murray in red, Sam in Yellow and Jeff in Purple. However, often enough, children draw a connection between the show and the artificial characters Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Wags the Dog and Henry the Octopus and enjoy learning from them.

The Wiggles utilize their talent to create songs which extends to the development and education of young children. The songs are usually sweet, short and simple using concepts that children are familiar with in order for the message to get across in a clear manner. Their humorous performances colorfully illustrate numeracy and literacy. They also tend to illustrate a comparison between colors and fruits and vegetables as shown in the free music video clip below.

The choreography used by The Wiggles encourages children to use their gross motor skills. The tactic of The Wiggles character staring straight into the camera acts as an encouragement for children to copy the actions of The Wiggles as they believe that they’re been given individual attention. I see it in my own children. They just love the attention and encouragement given to them by The Wiggles characters.

In the opinion of aroundthetownchicago, “The Fab Four from Down Under know just what to do to get the little one’s involved…They want the kids to be involved”. The Wiggles know that a child, loves having a job to do and is thrilled by mastering basic movements’ and henceforth use the tactic of challenging the children to do something rather than telling them to do it. This is shown in the clip below, where children are encouraged in an engaging manner to make a fruit salad, rather than being told.

The Australian children musical group, originated in 1991, being led by Anthony Field. Accompanied by Murray Cook and Greg Page, Field wrote many children’s songs. In need of musical guidance, Field approached his old mate, Jeff Fatt and asked for his assistance. At the time, Jeff said, “Sure, but how long will it take………” and the rest is history!

The Wiggles are currently on tour beginning July 29 through to the end of August. Source: About.com

News has it that they are in the middle of a recording with Australian country star Keith Urban. Source: blog.cmt

This soundtrack is perfect to download music off of for children aged from the years one to seven. It tells the tale of our favorite little monkey Curious George in the most exciting time of the year, Christmas. The Man in the Yellow Hat has been woken up by George at five in the morning since Thanksgiving. He is keen to know how many days left until Christmas day.

A chart is set up to help our young friend count down the days during which together they enjoy all the festivities associated with the time. They decide which gifts to give each other and select and decorate the tree.

This is wonderful lesson for both young and old, on the joy of giving and the time spent together as the best things of the season. There is plenty of fun in store for little ones and some big ones that are still young at heart.

Here is a video with some of the music from the soundtrack:

The third installment of the Disney’s Greatest series shows no sign of wear with numerous great songs that you and your children will get many hours of pleasure from. Jonathan Brooke sings the lovely ballad I’ll Try (Return to Neverland) to begin. The wonderful Sarah McLachlan takes us back to magic of Toy Story 2 with When She Loved Me.

The catalog that is available to Disney is broad and extensive and volume 3 lacks nothing with Can You Feel the Love Tonight (The Lion King), A Spoonful of Sugar (Mary Poppins), and Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid) showing the quality that should see this series continuing for many years to come.

For the older children Tim Burton’s main man Danny Elfman is on board for What’s This? (The Nightmare before Christmas). Lovers of classic Disney are catered for further with Give a Little Whistle (Pinocchio).

Disney has many critics and competitors these days but their longevity is down to their ability to please their audience time after time and Disney Volume 3 is no different. The selected artists are fine musicians in their own right and most tracks stand alone as enjoyable and safe listening for the family to enjoy. It made me realize there are so many songs from Disney movies that I want to add to my music downloads!

Below is the video to When She Loved Me from Toy Story 2:

Brother Bear Soundtrack

I’ve wanted to find an excuse to review Phil Collins for children’s music for ages. My son loves Phil Collins. He’s listened to all his albums; and he has watched the video of the final tour more than he’s seen the Wiggles. In fact after about a year of hearing him almost all day, almost every day (that must have been several thousand times) I did have to temporarily direct his attention to other things to save my sanity.

I found a free music download of an album in the kids genre created by Phil Collins and composer Mark Mancina. It is the soundtrack for the 2003 Disney film Brother Bear. They have previously collaborated in 1999 and won an Academy award for the Disney animated Tarzan film soundtrack. Some critics panned the pair’s effort in Brother Bear as being too similar to the Tarzan soundtrack. Well I have only heard one Tarzan song You’ll be in My Heart sung live by Phil on tour; and I’d assumed it was from the 1984 movie Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes. Ok, I was wrong there. But at least I’m listening to this album with no preconceptions.

To me, some of Brother Bear, the score and symphony tracks, remind me of music from Avatar, with its Native American sounding flutes and chanting. The album feels very tender and moving. The score – Three Brothers goes from fragile and delicate, to aggressive and relentless, like an enemy is coming; and then the third part is filled with the song of heart-wrenching tribal voices slowly fading away.

No Way Out sung by Collins appears on the album in two versions; the track called Transformation also appears in two versions. Transformation could easily have been on any of his pop albums. It has that fusion of world music and pop that both Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel do so well. Both versions of the track however are incredibly short, just over two minutes. Phil’s track Look Through My Eyes is a dramatic lovely song with an unusual chord arrangement. I know the track No Way Out because I’ve heard it sung by Collins live in the past. I’m not sure if I prefer the theme version or the Phil version better as they are so similar. On My Way is the most toddler-friendly song. It is a really upbeat, sing a long song with a nice repetitive chorus and simple lyrics. To give you a taste of the album, I’ve included a video of Phil Collins and his band performing it live:

My child rating for the album is, for a three year old, not high. My kid was not paying it much attention, instead clambering on the couch, turning lights on and off and throwing cushions at me. Normally with Phil Collins, the boy plays his bongo drums for hours. I think it would be a good album to play to a pregnant belly and to an infant as part of that classical music is good for a baby’s brain theory; and also for older kids for music appreciation. It’s just not something a child will be likely to sing along to and therefore not the best for an energetic preschooler.

History

The nursery rhyme Hickory Dickory, Dock is thought to have originated in North West England. Shepherds in Westmoreland in the 1800s used the numbers ‘Hevera’, ‘Devera’, & ‘Dick’ (8, 9 & 10) to count – hence “Hickory, Dickory, Dock”.

The nursery rhyme is thought to have started as a counting-out rhyme. A counting-out rhyme or game is a short game used to pick someone to be “it” for another longer game (e.g. using rock, paper, scissors to pick someone to be up for tag). (Imagine one child pointing around a circle of children as each word is said; the child pointed to at the end of the rhyme is it.)

It’s believed the rhyme was adapted to help teach children to tell the time.

Hickory, Dickory Dock was first published in Thommy Thumb’s Pretty Song Book in London around 1744. More than 265 years later, we now can get every nursery rhyme from across the world and over centuries of time with free music downloads. Times sure have changed.

Lyrics

Here are lyrics for Hickory, Dickory, Dock:

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory, dickory, dock.