Fred Koch's children's music review column appears monthly in Chicago Parent magazine, and BestChildrensMusic.com is delighted to make the complete archived series of articles accessible to you.

The following reviews are reprinted with permission from Chicago Parent magazine, a free monthly magazine for Chicago-area parents. For further information on Chicago Parent, call 708/386.5555. You may also visit them online at Chicagoparent.com.


December 1999 - It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

“Not A Traditional Christmas” - Jessica Harper
“Christmas Spirituals” - Odetta
“Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Horton Hears A Who” - Various Artists
“First Christmas Record For Children” - Various Artists
“A Very Veggie Christmas” - Various Artists
“A Child's Hanukkah” - Various Artists
“Kwanzaa Music” - Various Artists

November 1999 - The Wiggles Wiggle Their Way Into U.S.A.

“Let's Wiggle” - The Wiggles
“Yummy Yummy” - The Wiggles

October 1999 - Listening To A World of Music

“World Playground: A Musical Adventure For Kids” - Various Artists
“A Child's Celebration of Classical Music” - Various Artists
“Jump On It” - The Sugar Hill Gang

September 1999 - Treehead's Tunes Carry Across the Atlantic

“Sleepy Songs and Not Very Sleepy Songs” - Herbie Treehead (Dib Dib Dib Studios)
“Teddy Bears' Picnic” - Gary Rosen (GMR Records)
“Uni-verse of Song -- Spanish” - Maria Del Rey (Music For Little People)

August 1999 - Rick Scott Sounds Like A Winner

“Philharmonic Fool” - Rick Scott
“The Electric Snowshoe” - Rick Scott
“Rick Around The Rock” - Rick Scott

July 1999 - Savoring Some of the Season's Best Home Grown Talent

“JoJo's Barnyard Bash” - Joel Frankel
“Jim Gill Sings Do Re Mi on his Toe Leg Knee” - Jim Gill
“Little Voices In My Head” - Susan Salidor
“By Heart” - Susan Salidor
“Color Me Singing” - Susan Salidor

June 1999 - Old Favorites That Have Become New Again

“Really Rosie” - Carole King
“Lead Belly Sings For Children” - Lead Belly
“Build Your Baby's Brain 2 - Through The Music of Mozart” - Various Artists

May 1999 - Classical Hits For The Nursery Set

“SmartSleep With Classical” - Heidi Brende
“SmartPlay With Classical” - Heidi Brende
“Baby Needs Mozart” - Various Artists
“Baby Needs Baroque” - Various Artists
“The Mozart Effect: Music For Babies” - Various Artists

April 1999 - Showering Praise On Spring Releases

“Singin' In The Bathtub” - John Lithgow
“Four Seasons: Springsongs” - John McCutcheon
“A Child's Garden of Songs - The Poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson in Song” - Ted Jacobs

March 1999 - “And The Grammy Winner Is . . . ”

“The Playground” - Tony Bennett
“Elmopalooza!” - Various Artists
“Four Seasons: Autumnsongs” - John McCutcheon
“In My Hometown” - Tom Chapin
“Changing Channels” - Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer

February 1999 - These Girls Just Want to Have Fun with Kids’ Music

“If Fish Could Sing . . . Celtic Songs for All Ages” - Teresa Doyle
“Never Grow Up” - Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen
“I've Got Imagination” - Rachel Sumner

Jaunary 1999 - A Mixed Bag of New Music

“The Best of Schoolhouse Rock” - Various Artists
“Teletubbies: The Album” - Teletubbies
“A Bug's Life” - Randy Newman
“Jazz-A-Ma-Tazz” - Hayes Greenfield