1995 NAPPA Awards for Children’s Music

Good quality children's music is a joy to discover both for kids and parents. The problem comes in wading through the stacks of tapes and CDs available in this continually growing, highly lucrative market. To make it in this year's competition, winning entries had to be original, well-produced, entertaining, inventive and, above all else, just plain fun to listen to. Not an easy checklist to survive. But the tougher our standards got, the more some albums stood apart from the rest.

Feel free to dive into any of these winners with complete assurance that all ears in your household, no matter their size, will like what they hear.

Lullaby Category Nightlights: Songs From A Parent's Heart Jill Rogoff — The Celtic Cradle Blanket Bay Lullabies Infant Category Dana's Best Sing & Play-A-Long Tunes! Sesame Street Splish Splash — Bath Time Fun i will hold your tiny hand Toddler Category Hoyt Axton "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog" Sing Along Stew Jerry Zee "Boogie Woogie Bullfrog"

Early Elementary Category Anna Moo Crackers Share This World Sugar Beats "Everybody Is A Star" Upper Elementary Category "Living In Harmony" by Karan & The Musical Medicine Show John McCutcheon's Summersongs ohn Henry

Reviews of 1995 NAPPA Award Winners

Lullaby Category

Nightlights: Songs From A Parent's Heart. A memorable collection of original lullabies by Paul Gilreath highlights his beautiful keyboard work, lush orchestrations and contributions from members of the acclaimed Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. A noteworthy remembrance for your newborn child. MUSICWORKS; $9.99 cassette. Phone (800) 469-9575.

Jill Rogoff — The Celtic Cradle. This collection of traditional and original Celtic lullabies features a soothing, comfortable blend of Rogoff's pure and lilting voice along with guitar, lap harp, flute, bodhran and uillean pipes. The 17 lullabies here are sung in both English and languages native to Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Brittany and the Isle of Man. Alcazar Productions; $9.98 cassette, $14.98 CD. Phone (800) 541-9904.

Blanket Bay Lullabies. Warning: do not operate a motorized vehicle while listening to this special collection of soothing lullabies. Its smooth harmonies and silky instru-mentation are virtually guaranteed to induce sleep. And that's a good thing. Side one is 32 minutes of beautifully arranged and performed gospels, traditional lullabies and even a few original compositions. On side two, the same songs are repeated (even a mother's heartbeat can be heard) without vocal tracks. Sound Storm Music; $11.99 cassette only. Phone (206) 639-4944.

Infant Category

Dana's Best Sing & Play-A-Long Tunes! Dana's latest release features a wide variety of catchy musical styles: Cajun, rap, blues, boogie, folk and pop with a mixture of original and traditional tunes that encourage audience participation. Nice arrangements helped by some of Nashville's finest musicians. Real Music For Kidz; $9.95 cassette, $14.95 CD. Phone (800) 557-3262.

Sesame Street Splish Splash — Bath Time Fun. Fifteen classic Sesame Street favorites including "Splish Splash" and Little Richard's "Rubber Duckie" are performed by the popular denizens of Sesame Street. Designed to encourage and promote bath time and pre-bedtime fun with familiar friends. Good clean fun! Sony Wonder; $9.98 cassette, $13.98 CD. Phone (888) 221-8180.

i will hold your tiny hand. It's not often that parents can truly enjoy music produced for little ears. This sophisticated collection of 12 original songs is a welcome exception. Singer-songwriter Steven Rashid's warm vocals are ideal for the blend of jazz and rock, folk and pure fun delivered here. Woodside Ave. Music Productions; $10 cassette, $15 CD. Phone (800) 594-9180.

Toddler Category

Hoyt Axton "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog". A rich legacy of the singer/songwriter/actor's children's songs features traditional renditions of "Big Rock Candy Mountain," "On Top Of Spaghetti" and "Happy Trails," along with his own showpiece, "Joy To The World," made popular by Three Dog Night in the early 1970s. Creative Teaching Press; $10.98 cassette, $13.98 CD. Phone (800) 444-4287.

Sing Along Stew. Linda Arnold has whipped up yet another tasty album of music for minipeople. With the help of some whimsical, albeit admittedly corny characters, this reliably entertaining singer has created a musical "stew" of classic children's fare including two impressive medleys. Kids and parents alike will be humming at least a few of these favorites for days to come. A&M Records; $9.98 cassette, $14.98 CD. Phone (800) 541-9904.

Jerry Zee "Boogie Woogie Bullfrog". From reggae to rock and bullfrogs to clowns, Jerry Zee's new album of 10 weird and wacky songs cover just about all the styles of music and types of subject matter. This engaging performer more than delivers on the CD cover's promise of "fun songs for kids." But with the contagious rhythm of songs like "Bop 'Til You Stop" or the album's title song, we older folks will be turning up the volume as well. Transitions Music; $10.98, $14.95 CD. Phone (800) 492-9885.

Early Elementary Category

Anna Moo Crackers. Florida native Anna Moo (real name) lovingly shares 14 original animal, people and places songs that celebrate and generally relate to her home state. Uniquely expressive and highly listenable collection — Anna Moo Crackers with your soup! Mosic Productions; $10 cassette, $14 CD. Phone (800) 226-8057.

Share This World. Ten original tunes, an English version of "De Colores" and "An Egg is an Egg" by Nicki Weiss set to music generate a lot of solar power for Jim Rule, a relatively new performer on the children's scene. A whole lot of fun. PNO Tuna Music; $9.98 cassette, $15.98 CD. Phone (312) 463-2879.

Sugar Beats "Everybody Is A Star". For the second time in a row, Sherry Goffin Kondor (of Carole King lineage) and company have released an album of 1960s and 1970s classics that is nothing short of wonderful. Two original tracks join 13 exceptionally well-produced oldies like "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" and "The Lion Sleeps Tonight." It's nostalgia made new with fresh and funky arrangements by these consummate pros. Sugar Beats Entertainment; $9.98 cassette, $14.98 CD. Phone (800) 232-8721.

Upper Elementary Category

"Living In Harmony" by Karan & The Musical Medicine Show. Polished arrangements, warm vocals by Karan Bunin and a veritable plethora of talented performers make "Living In Harmony" a most enjoyable experience for young and old. Karan duets with Red Grammer, Curtis King and Joanie Bartels, among others celebrating friendship with a positive feel-good message. Medicine Show Music, Inc.; $9.95 cassette, $13.95 CD. Phone (800) 541-9904.

John McCutcheon's Summersongs. The first of a planned "four seasons" series, this John McCutcheon masterpiece just might have you barefoot and mixin' lemonade in the dead of winter. The subject matter of the songs will bring a smile to kids and a memory to adults. Be ready, however, for the contemporary theme of "dad and me," one of the most sadly touching portrayals of joint custody ever put to music. Rounder Records; $9.98 cassette, $15.98 CD. Phone (800) 443-4727.

John Henry. Once again, those spellbinding storytellers at Rabbit Ears have created an instant audio classic of one of our country's most famous legends. This time out, Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington tells the tale of the mightiest nation builder ever to walk the earth. And who better to provide the musical score than the legendary bluesmaster B.B. King. Rabbit Ears Productions; $6.98 cassette. Phone (800) 800-3277.

The National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) program began in 1990 as a consumer awards program for children's media, including books, toys, music, videos, software, and storytelling/spoken word. Expert judges within each category review and select the best submissions to receive recognition as either Gold or Honors Award winners. Winners are announced annually prior to the holiday season.

Jim Chase has been a children's music reviewer for L.A. Parent magazine for several years.

John Wood coordinates children's music for the Hollywood Bowl and is director of the Theatre Arts Festival for Youth (TAFFY).