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Harriet M. Welsch has lately been writing about her son's favorite music. While the Welsches seem to be well into broadening their child's horizons, I am always horrified when I go into someone's house and see that the only music they have for their kids is Disney crap or worse, cd's that are tied in with marketing television programs.
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For anyone interested, here are a few kid's cds I like (most of which won't drive parents too crazy):
Smithsonian Folkways Children's Music Collection" is my all-time favorite. How many other kids' cds include Langston Hughes reading his poetry?
For Our Children has some good stuff, including a beautiful lullaby sung by Meryl Streep and a frighteningly peppy-sounding Bob Dylan singing "This Old Man".
My friend Ralph Covert's kids cds are fun and contain enough in-jokes to keep adults fairly entertained.
Raffi is okay, though I would stick with the two "Singable Songs for the Very Young" cds and skip the later stuff.
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I am also a big proponent of exposing kids to all kinds of music from a very early age. (Within reason, of course. My sister's oldest went to preschool one day singing Wanda Jackson's "Fujiyama Mama" which prompted a phone call from the teacher...)
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Over and out.
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