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KidSpin

The Long and Winding Sesame Street Sesame Playground

I used to want to be Supergrover when I grew up and, a decade ago, I named my dog after Oscar the Grouch. So I was jubilant when I saw that Putumayo Kids was releasing Sesame Street Playground Songs and Videos from Around the World.

As the title suggests, this CD features songs from the various international Sesame Street productions. Like the curriculum attached to Sesame Street, the songs teach a les-son, helping to develop a child’s cognitive, emotional and social well-being. Lessons such as “recycle all your plastic…we don’t want any more pollution,” from Takalani Sesame (South Africa) or “La Chanson de l’Amitie” (The Song of Friendship)from 5, Rue Sesame (France).

It is extremely entertaining to hear “Rubber Duckie” in Chinese, and the “Galli Galli Sim Sim Theme” from India reminds me of a Muppet version of a Bollywood production number.

Joe Raposo, musical director and songwriter for Sesame Street years ago, once told his band that they were not writing for kids, just playing “for a very short audience.” That commitment to good music, not just good kids’ music, is apparent in Raposo’s composition, “Sing.”

Muppets and kids’ singing, like doughnuts, must be consumed in reasonable quantities. Too much can nauseate you. While this CD will introduce your child to different languages and concepts, you might not want to put your CD player on repeat. Perhaps because I didn’t grow up with Elmo, I find his song the hardest to listen to after the third time through.

Recess Monkey’s third CD, Tabby Road, gives an obvious nod to their Beatles roots. This version, however, is populated with roads like Mayor Monkey Scenic Loop and Dress Up Lane.

The three Seattle teachers of Recess Monkey have created another hit CD, as

varied as it is engaging. The guitar on “Pedal Power,” a song about the joy of riding a bike, has echoes of The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood,” while parts of “S-L-Double E-P-Over” sound a lot like “polly wolly doodle all the day.”

There aren’t many songs that deal with a pet who has passed away, but “KC in the Clouds” is a wistful, wonderful homage to a dog named KC. “He died and on that day I cried, cried, I felt so blue…now I just smile.”

And while it is hard to resist a song called “My Yeti’s So Cool,” “Boogie Monster” is even wittier. More akin to a disco hit than a children's song, “Boogie Monster” is about a twelve-legged beast who likes to bounce and boogie.

With both Tabby Road and Sesame Street Playground Songs and Videos from Around the World, your kids will be bouncing and boogieing, too.

Whitney Lou’s four-year-old daughter Sophie thinks that any affliction can be cured with several Band-Aids. Lou lives in the near west end with Sophie’s dad, Jeff, and brother, Jax.

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