Mourning the Muppet Show still, but at least we have this....

Anyone who has a had a child in the past few years, is probably familiar with Sandra Boynton, illustrator and author of a band of animals who wear pajamas, dance, and play together nicely across the pages of rhyming board books. Those of you without kids, have no doubt seen her characters on greeting cards and other such products. The books withstand multiple readings and I've yet to tire of them after almost two years. But not everyone may be aware that she is also behind several CD and book sets as well. Nora has received two of these from my aunt and while we were initially hesitant to put it on (children's music isn't always a something adults want to listen to), one of these has become a standard in our ipod playlist. Jason and I have been known to spend days singing the Rhinoceros Tap songbook, especially So Long Doggies Goodbye, Oh What a Crab, and These Little Piggies and not mind a bit. It works both as Nora entertainment but also a hilarious send up of showtunes. The second CD/book, Philadelphia Chickens, featured a conglomerate of artists I've heard of but never really were into and despite a 2003 Grammy nomination (thanks Wikipedia), it never seemed to take off with us, maybe we just weren't willing to give it a chance (Scott Bakula has a song on it and I still can't get over the stink of Enterprise) But last month, as part of Nora's Christmas gifts, I picked up Dog Train (yes the name made me buy it). It had a similar conglomerate of artists (those Bacon Brothers again), but I also couldn't resist the Weird Al Yankovic / Kate Winslet duet, I need a Nap. Jason couldn't wait for Christmas and popped it in tonight, possibly to distract Nora from her cold/croup that she's suffering with. We have not been disappointed. Weird Al and Kate were fabulous, Five For Fighting made us smile with Penguin Lament, Alison Krauss mesmerized us again with her lullaby, Evermore, but what stole the CD for us was the 3 part Cow Planet by Billy J Kramer. For one brief moment it was as if David Bowie was on the Muppet Show with Lenord Nemoy. If I ever got motivated and posted a Christmas shopping guide for parents, this and Rhino Tap would top the list. It's a must if you've got children under 5 and it might even make your Christmas list even if you don't have kids. Now I'm going to have to give those Chickens another chance.