This month, Sourcebooks, Inc. is releasing a new children’s book that aims to help young people, especially African-American children, develop a love for poetry. Hip Hop Speaks to Children: a celebration of poetry with a beat is a groundbreaking new anthology of rhymes and rhythms that places an emphasis on the art forms that led up to the development of hip hop.

The book was created by National Book Award nominee, Spoken Word Grammy nominee and New York Times best-selling author Nikki Giovanni. (She was the Virginia Tech professor who gave that rousing speech “We are Virginia Tech” after the tragic campus shootings.)

Like Poetry Speaks to Children, the classic book and CD that started it all, this anthology is meant to be a journey of discovery. Readers can immerse themselves in 51 beautifully animated poetry and hip hop selections, 30 of which are performed by well known poets and artists on the accompanying audio CD including:

• Nikki Grimes
• Queen Latifah
• Langston Hughes
• Sugar Hill Gang
• James Berry
• A Tribe Called Quest
• Gary Soto
• Eloise Greenfield

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What happens when the family goes somewhere in the car and they can’t decide on what music to listen to – mom’s, dad’s or the kids’ favorites? Well, in my family, if it’s dad that’s driving we listen to sports radio, rockabilly, old time country, punk, or ska. Paul and I have similar tastes but don’t agree on everything. (I’m not a big ska fan, but can tolerate it most of the time. However, I can only listen to the Dead Kennedys in very small doses.)

The kids usually request Devo in daddy’s truck, which is fun but then you have to explain why it’s not polite to sing Devo’s “Mongoloid” out loud at a restaurant. Sigh.

If I’m the one driving, I listen to local rock stations or music I listened to in high school like Duran Duran or Bruce Springsteen. I’m also a talk radio junky, which is why my kids are very aware that Barak Obama is running for the presidency. (And love it when Randi Rhodes plays comedienne Rusty Warren’s Bounce Your Boobies on air.)

Occasionally, the kids will request Green Day’s American Idiot, which rocks but is full of f-bombs and drug references that I hope are going over their heads. Another sigh.

But if it were up to the kids, we’d be listening to the Disney CDs I received from the folks at Mom Central:

• Rhyming Circus by Ralph’s World (i.e. Ralph Covert of The Bad Examples)
• Juice Box Heroes from the Imagination Movers
• Choo Choo Soul
• Here Come the 123s by They Might Be Giants
• Disney Music Block Party – Disney favorites performed by Disney Playhouse regulars like the Doodlebops (Lucie’s favorites), the Wiggles and Dan Zanes

So far, I like Disney Music Block Party and Here Come the 123s. Like Devo (think the theme songs to the Nickelodeon shows Rugrats and Rocket Power – yep, it’s those Mothersbaugh brothers.) They Might Be Giants have created kids’ music that hip parents like, too.

I also gave a listen to Choo Choo Soul, which the kids like but I couldn’t stand. I’m just not into hip hop that much. Luckily, Nathan has a stereo in his room to listen to all his new Disney CDs with his sister. Unfortunately, they can never agree on what to listen to, and end up fighting more than listening to music. Sounds like we’ll have to ask Santa to bring Lucie her own CD player for the holidays.

Check out my review of Baze and His Silly Friends – One Little Smile. This is a great children’s music CD that you will enjoy too.

Not only would it make a great birthday or baby shower gift, but $1 of each copy goes to Autism Speaks. Check it out!

I recently came across a wonderful children’s books and music company, Do-Re-Me & You*. They’re a division of Kindermusik International. Like Usborne Books they’re sold at home shows.

While their aim is to get kids enlightened and brightened by music, what’s unique about DRMY is that they combine books, music and activities to make reading more fun. In turn, this combination increases reading comprehension.

One of the books I’d like to recommend is the Noodles from Scratch. It’s a story of Sylvia Sheep and her friends whipping up a batch of noodles from scratch. Since the book includes a recipe, and comes with children’s cooking utensils, and an apron and chef’s hat, your child will see how everyone, no matter how small, can play an important role in the creative process.

It’s sold with a wonderful CD of jazz renditions of classic children’s songs, like the Muffin Man and Apples and Bananas. If you like New Orleans style jazz, you’ll like the CD as much as your kids. (The first track is a reading of the story – a very convenient way to enjoy the story while traveling in the car or cooking in the kitchen.)

DRMY’s quality is very impressive. The book is sewn, not glued. The CD comes in a very clever cardboard jacket that prevents the CD from acidentally slipping out. Also, the book, CD and cooking gear all come in a zip up, clear plastic bag. You can either store everything in it, or use the bag for something else.

Since DRMY is only sold through consultants, go through their website to find the nearest consultant to you. Or you may want to host a party to get free books.

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Nathan and Lucie are big fans of the Man in Black. So for Christmas, I got them The Johnny Cash Children’s Album. I recently loaded it on the computer so I could copy it for Nathan’s use. Since he’s only six and is really bad about putting his CDs away, we make him copies of music he likes. This way, if he scratches the copy, it’s no big deal. We have the original safe in it’s case, and the music stored in the computer as a back up.

I started listening to The Johnny Cash Children’s Album and liked it more than the kids did. Unlike his gospel stuff, it’s not cheesy at all. The songs are really quite nice, especially his duet with June Carter Cash called, "I Got a Boy And His Name Is John."

This got me thinking about Johnny’s appearances on Sesame Street. I had heard he was on the program, but after doing a search on YouTube, I found out that he was on twice – once in the ’70s and once in the ’80s or ’90s. (YouTube is a great resource if you’re looking for old Sesame Street spots. I especially like the one when Robert DeNiro explains acting to Elmo and turns into a cabbage.)

Johnny Cash on Sesame Street

"Nasty Dan" with Oscar the Grouch (sang on the The Johnny Cash Children’s Album)

"Don’t Take Your Ones To Town" along with Big Bird