New Music For Grandchildren

For all ages and any activity, these are the perfect tunes for entertaining young ones

by Phoebe Assenza

The Soulville compilation, Soul Stuff for Kids of All Ages is the ideal primer for a future jazz and soul enthusiast. Classic hits like "Stand By Me, " "Express Yourself," and "Mustang Sally" are rerecorded here with most of the original musical arrangements. Kids handle back-up vocals making the songs accessible for younger grandchildren. And the CD's accompanying board-book features the lyrics to the original "Soulville" song, which chronicles the genre's history. There are also "Soul Facts" about each of the album's track. Your favorite might be "Grandma's Hands," by Bill Withers, a song about love and family.

Price: $12.99
Available at: Barnesandnoble.com

Back for a revival that's sure to match their late 1960s heyday: The melodically-gifted animal band, The Banana Splits, makes its modern debut on the Cartoon Network — in short clips and music videos during commercial breaks — starting September 2. The Banana Splits brought the ecstatically silly "Tra-La-La" song with them, a mellower ode to a grade-school superhero, "My Friend Sammy"; and a love song for roller-coasters, simply titled "Rollercoaster." If you miss them on TV, you can watch the newest videos, and play the songs and shorts for your grandchildren at Bananasplits.com. Singles are also available for download on iTunes.

Price: 99 cents per song
Available at: iTunes

The London Philharmonic Orchestra performs The Story of Swan Lake, an animated humanities professor Konrad Czynski (Yadu) narrates, and the CD is punctuated with extras like a brief audio biography of the composer, and an accompanying booklet filled with fun facts and Swan Lake-inspired activities. Aside from one seemingly out-of-place element, a heavy-metal version of the ballet's main theme, the CD was put together especially for grandchildren, ages 6 and older, and is an enchanting way for them to learn about Tchaikovsky's masterpiece.

Price: $16.98
Available at: Amazon.com