Music for children doesn’t have to treat them like…well, children. Of course, it has to be part of a process that helps them develop, a learning curve that they need to ease themselves along, a way of stimulating them and helping them to work out who they are and who they are going to be. But it doesn’t have to talk down to them. And that is the attitude at the heart of Bongo Boy’s Kidz and Katz album series.
And this idea is perhaps best summed up by the opening song, “Who I Aspire to Be,” which sees Willow Layne addressing perhaps the less obvious, more inward-looking parts of our formative development. Yes, songs that teach us the practical aspects of young life are vital, but here we have a song that asks the young to think about the less tangible aspects: what are they going to become, what are they going to do with their lives? But it also reminds us that it is a slow process and that just moving forward day by day, year by year, is enough to set such development in motion.
Monique Grimme gives us “Gnome Hollow,” a song that plays with fantasy and fairy tale imagery, a sweet and mystical sonic experience, and again, it would be so easy to lean into more childlike sonics; instead, the song delivers the sense of wonder of a Disney film soundscore, reinforcing the idea that not everything needs explaining or rationalising, that magic and beauty are often their own reward.
And even when the songs do lean into the more fun and frivolous, such as William Sherry Jr‘s “Guitar Pickin’ Chicken”, the music is top-notch. Lyrics aside, this slice of honky-tonk country rock is as good as anything the formative days of the genre produced. Maybe this is also a reminder to us adults that music can get a bit too serious from time to time… Here is the antidote.
“You’re the Rock in My Life” takes on even deeper meaning in this context of a collection of songs aimed at children, Monique Grimme’s tribute to her mother moving from the personal to the universal, a celebration of the parent-child bond, its balladic beauty a reminder that that connection, so important in those early years, only gets stronger with time.
Ann M Wolf‘s “Time in the Journey of the Soul” also addresses the passing on of wisdom from one generation to the next, doing so over an ever-changing soundscape that takes in funky acoustica and gospel harmonies, singer-songwriter finesse, and deft blues slides.
“Hop Hop Hop,” from Boys ‘N’ Barry, is more in keeping with traditional children’s songs, but learning can take many forms. Whilst it is great to celebrate an album where more progressive musical forms appeal to their young brains, sometimes you just need to leap about the room pretending to be a kangaroo. Monique Grimme’s final offering, “The Big Discovery by George, the Sheepadoodle,” sits between both worlds. Themed around a dog’s-eye view of the world, its Incredible Journey-type story is both fantasy-like and relatable; its story of discovery and learning and love transcending species, its message universal.
“Chickens on the Beach” sees Studeo rocking out, not to mention punning out, again a tale where animals are the star of the show but proving to be an anthropomorphized world where kids won’t realize that they are learning important aspects of humanity whilst listening to a story of the titular birds.
Toria Byrum gives us the story of “My Silly Buddy (Named Zack),” a neat little singalong…actually a quack-along…a song to bop and boogie to, to make noise and do duck impressions; well, learning has to be fun, and sometimes that is all it needs to be. “My Special Day” is Irene Ellis Miles offering up the perfect birthday song, a country-twanged tune to blow out the candles to, and Toria Byrum returns to round the album off with another of her bird friends, “Rootie the Rooster,” playing us out with an innocent tale and a fun finale.
Bongo Boy’s Kidz and Katz, Vol 3 is a reminder that whilst sometimes kids want to bop and bounce around, socially bonding through duck impressions and party tunes, they are, of course, smarter than many give them credit for. This is an album that appeals to their sillier side while also prompting deeper thoughts. It is an album that makes them think as well as act out stories. An album that reminds us that children’s music doesn’t have to be childlike. An album for all the family.
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