Christine Davenier takes a good thing (the music, of course) and makes it even better. In an oversized picture book, the breezy illustrations bring new life to familiar nursery songs that are interspersed with the familiar, It's Raining, It's Pouring ditty that is repeated. And don't tell anyone, but there's a lot of whole lot of learning built-in as they count by fives as they follow the game the kids play of Hide and Seek. Preschol and Early School years.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2013.

A wonderful mix of familiar and not so well known songs from around the world. Sung in the language of the countries represented on this pleasing CD. Waltzing Matilda, La Cucaracha, and so many more singable folk songs sung by artists such as Dan Zanes, Angelique Kidjo, Asheba, Frances England, and Father Goose. All ages. Click here to hear a sample.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

What child does not know the film of the Wizard of Oz? But how about the source of that classic film? L. Frank Baum wrote an entire series of books about the Land of Oz and listening to this may just open the door to those books. Read by Brooke Shields, this is a good one to listen to together in the car on the way to and from regular trips or before dinner while routine things like setting the table or cleaning up has to be done. Listening to a story together can be a nice tradition. 8 & up. 

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

You know that moment when you're in your child's nursery and the sun pours in?  No one's crying, no one needs a diaper....you're just enjoying being together.  Elizabeth Mitchell's new release Blue Clouds feels like the soundtrack for that perfect moment. A collection of deliciously accessible songs that highlight Mitchell's voice. The arrangements are simple--with guitars, piano, fiddles, and bass.  While the press release for this recording highlights that some of the music is from the likes of such legends as David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, and Van Morrison, none of that seems very important here.  The take away, is a lovely collection of music to share. Click here to hear a sample.

Age: Infants, Toddlers, Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Elizabeth Mitchell rocks this collection of Woody Guthrie songs. Right from the start with Riding in My Car we knew we were in for a treat. Her bright, strong voice makes you relax and enjoy these great songs in a new way.  She makes each song her own.  You could imagine Woody listening for a bit, smiling and then joining in.  Children's music at its best. This CD was just nominated for a GRAMMY! Click here to hear a sample.

Age: Infants, Toddlers, Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Newest in the author's series of great composer's stories. Ratherthan telling the whole life story, each of the picture books concentrates on a famous composition by a composer. This tells about the Venetian orphanage where Vivaldi taught music to young girls. His fanciful stories did not please the governors and he was sent away. But he returned later with his most memorable composition, the Four Seasons. The author's notes indicate that it is not known for certain when his masterpiece was composed, though it is believed to have been in Mantua, she he worked after leaving the orphanage. Weaving stories to the great music will hopefully open the doors to new listening for another generation.  7 & up.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2012.

This is the Fiftieth Anniversary of the beloved classic, A Wrinkle In Time. A story of a stranger who leads Meg, her brother and their buddy Calvin on a frightening but thrilling adventure. The book won the Newbery Medal and is the first of series of science fiction time travel books about the Murry family. Though the books are decades old, they are not dated. The subject of bullies, going along, and fears of nuclear attacks are just as real in 2012 as they were in 1962 when the book was published, It's been recorded before, but this is an all new recording by the gifted Hope Davis, winner of the NY Film Critics Best Actress Award. Bring home the book and or the sequels. This is a good way to introduce the family to an author who wrote more than 60 books and who reads an introduction to her most famous work on this CD set. 

Age: Tweens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

As always with Hiaasen, there's action, suspense, humor, and plenty of wacky fun in the Everglades-of course. This time Wahoo Cray's dad has a job with a TV reality show and the ridiculous star manages to disappear in a downpour. Bring it home in hardcover ($12) and or the CD to introduce them to Hiaasen. Older kids will also know the narrator's work from shows such as Dawson's Creek, How I Met Your Mother, Ugly Betty, and others. 

Age: Later School Years, Tweens. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Bring home the book or the audio version of this terrific story about an overweight kid who plays third base, but gets teased a lot abut being super-sized. A problem many kids today will surely relate to. Middle school listeners or readers.

Age: Later School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Musicologist, Anna Harwell Calenza tells young readers how it was that Duke Ellington and his collaborator, Billy Strayhorn, came to transform Tchaikovsky's classic Nutcracker Suite into a collection of jumpin' jazz melodies. Based on historic fact, this is a terrific way to introduce young audiences to jazz, using familiar music that they recognize as they hear the new variations. The story reflects how reluctant some of the band members were to playing ballet music and how the work of two masters opened their ears and minds. Vivid colors dance through the pages of the handsome book that comes with an orchestral CD of the composition played by Duke Ellington himself and members of his orchestra.

Age: Early School Years, Later School Years. Award Year: 2011.