Favorite Children’s CDs

Just in time for your last-minute holiday shopping, read on for suggestions of CDs enjoyed by fellow CCC families. You can also check out the recent posts on favorite books and favorite videos. Thanks to all who shared—I know these lists have given me lots of ideas!

Kate (Milo, BY) writes, “This summer we fell madly in love with the CD set of Winnie the Pooh read by British actor Jim Broadbent. It's a three-CD set, and I'm sure we listened to it easily more than 10 times over within the scope of a month. Amazingly enough, Phil and I both find it both sweet and hilarious every time.”

Lately Milo’s family has been taking a break from kid music, Kate says, “Though we always love Dan Zanes, Elizabeth Mitchell and the like ... but lately Milo has been really into The Mikado! Go figure. Trying to do more classic Beatles as well.”

Samantha says that Patrick (FY) has been enjoying A Bam Bam Diddly by Father Goose, as well as anything by Dan Zanes or Bev Bos, and the soundtrack to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (from 1973).

Ula (BY) has been listening to 96 Degrees in the Shade by Third World.

Josie (BY) and her big brother Sam like Dino 5, says their mom Ellen, “hip-hop for kids with Tracy Triceratops and Billy Brontosauras.”

Elise (Hazel Rose, BY) writes, “Our favorite kids CDs are still Octapretzel (local band) and Melita's Delicate Web. Though they are not for children, we both love Amy Bruckmeier's CDs!!!” (Amy is Ula’s mom in the Back Yard, and Pearl seconds the recommendation!)

Kristen (Mazi, BY and Finn, FY) suggests the Putamayo Kids series—“Any of their CDs are great.” Also African Lullaby from the Ellipsis Arts Lullabies series.

And finally, Ani shares that Ian (FY) has caught the spirit of the season and “loves, loves, loves Christmas songs this year, especially ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘Jingle Bells.’” Lately Ani has overheard Ian making up his own words to songs, including, "Here comes Santa Claus... going to jail!"

Well, Ian, I hope Santa can stay out of trouble long enough to deliver the goods. And to all, my wishes for a joyous holiday season!

Favorite Children’s Videos

From Charlie Chaplin to Japanese animation to a Canadian farm documentary, CCC parents share recommendations for kid-friendly videos. Pick up some ideas for your next family movie night. Don’t forget the popcorn!

Annie (Alex, FY) writes, “We have recently discovered and fallen in love with The Little Travelers for our weekly movie night. They are two girls from Southern California who travel around the world. The movies are stories of their adventures and they're full of sweetness, curiosity and exploration. They're really well done. We've watched Bali, Japan and Iran... Bali being our favorite. We highly recommend!”

Val (Rudy, BY) reports, “Just got a hot tip on a DVD from Farmer Stanley at the Little Farm in Tilden. There's a group out of Manitoba called Rural Route Video with a DVD called Katherine's Farm, a year in the life of a young girl growing up on a Canadian farm... Just our speed.”

Samantha (Patrick, FY) recommends both Dan Zanes concert DVDs, Eloise videos, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (“He has a big sister who did not watch these at 3, by the way”). She adds two of his favorite TV shows right now are Wordgirl and Super Why.

Ani (Ian, FY) says Ian’s top movie picks are: Toy Story, Cinderella, Up and any Pixar movie.

Amy (Ula, BY) writes, “Ula is loving Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, and Season 1 of Sesame Street, downloaded off of iTunes. She loves the song about 'Dad, D-A-D, Dad!’”

Kristen (mom of Mazi, BY and Finn, FY) recommends: Scholastic Video Collection (“tons of great books made into simple video form”) and some true classics: Charlie Chaplin, The Red Balloon and The Three Stooges.

Ellen (Josie, BY) writes, “Kirikou is a favorite. It's based on a West African folktale. Kirikou, a walking, talking, tiny newborn saves his village from the evil sorceress. Cool animation and good music too.”

Elise (Hazel Rose, BY): “Charlie and Lola have been nice to have around. They are British animated siblings who have a nice relationship. All of the Hayao Miyazaki movies that are age appropriate are well loved by both of us: Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo (when it comes out), and well, yes, a lot of the way age inappropriate ones, too: Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, Nausicaa, Monoke, Spirited Away.” Elise advises that parents pre-screen to make sure these are a good fit for their kids.

Kate (Milo, BY) also chimes in on Miyazaki films, including My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki's Delivery Service. She adds, “There are a bunch of other great ones that are pretty wild and scary and probably not suited for this audience, but our kids love them: Porco Rosso, Laputa, Howl's Moving Castle, etc.”

And Kate writes, “We can't get enough of the BBC Series by David Attenborough: The Life of Birds, The Life of Mammals, The Blue Planet. Literally, Milo's first choice these days when picking something to watch.”

“Otherwise, old school Looney Tunes: The Rabbit of Seville ... Amazing animation with the fantastic scores from Carl Stalling. We love the classical music mixed in. And now our kids will listen to the Barber of Seville!”

Want to watch now? Kate suggests these classics on YouTube: Tom and Jerry play the Hollywood Bowl (Die Fledermaus), and Tom and Jerry play Franz Liszt.

What are your family’s favorite videos? Share them below!

Favorite Children's Books

Reading with kids is one of the true joys of parenthood, a time to reconnect with treasured classics and discover new favorites, and a time to connect with our kids, hear their ideas and explore the world together through books.

Here CCC parents share some of the titles they have enjoyed with their little ones. Read on if you’re looking for inspiration for your family’s library.

Lately Aeneas’ (FY) family has been reading My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. His mom Jessica writes, “We were looking for chapter books to capture Aeneas' attention. It took a little adjustment for him to get used to fewer pictures and more text.” But, she adds, “He is starting to own with pride the idea that we are reading a chapter book.”

Hazel Rose (BY) enjoys the Flower Fairies Friends book series (authors include Kay Woodward and Pippa Le Quesne). Her mom Elise writes, “They have good stories that always involve the main character making a mistake natural to their own temperament, and then having to solve the muddle that ensues, usually with help. They teach great friendship and self-knowledge values through engaging stories.” Hazel Rose also likes Pippi Longstocking and its sequels (Back Yarders may have noted Pippi as one of HR’s fashion icons).

Ian (FY) is fond of anything Toy Story or super-hero-related. Other favorites, says his mom Ani, include Where the Wild Things Are, Corduroy (“about a defective toy store bear who finally gets adopted”), Just Me and My Family by Mercer Mayer (“has cute little anecdotes about spending time with family”) and Caps For Sale.

Milo’s (BY) family enjoys Elsa Beskow’s beautifully illustrated classics for bedtime, including Peter's Old House, Christopher's Harvest Time and The Sun Egg. For chapter books, his mom Kate writes, “We love anything by Roald Dahl, most recently The Giraffe, The Pelly and Me and Danny the Champion of the World. You can get these on CD read by the author and they are wonderful too.”

She adds, “We also love Astrid Lindgren's chapter book series on The Children of Noisy Village—stories of three families of children who live on neighboring farms in rural Sweden around the turn of the century. There is also a picture book called Christmas in Noisy Village that is a classic we've been reading since I was a kid!”

Kristen, mom of Mazi (BY) and Finn (FY), shares two of her boys’ top picks: Pierre in Love by Sara Pennypacker, and Trashy Town by Andrea Zimmerman.

A favorite of Pearl’s (BY) is The Amazing Bone by William Steig, about a pig named Pearl who befriends a talking bone. Other great books by William Steig are Farmer Palmer’s Wagon Ride and Spinky Sulks, about a particularly tenacious sulker. She has also been enjoying longer books of late—a recent fave: The Velveteen Rabbit.

Patrick (FY) likes anything by Margaret Mahy, including The Great White Man Eating Shark, Jam, The Three-Legged Cat, The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate and The Rattlebang Picnic. He has also enjoyed Thatcher Hurd’s Artdog, Mystery on the Docks and Pea Patch Jig as well as Mordicai Gerstein’s Mountains of Tibet. His mom Samantha adds he also likes books about stars, planets or Greek myths (especially Cyclops and Medusa).

Ula (BY) and her mom Amy recently checked out David Soman’s superhero inspired Ladybug Girl and Bumblebee Boy from the library. Amy writes, “Even though she usually doesn't like to hear a story more than once, or possibly twice, we've read this about twice a day for three days. I guess she likes it?”

So…. feeling inspired and ready to shop? Milo's mom Kate reminds us to check out our great Bay Area independent bookstores. Among her faves are Mrs. Dalloway's (“they can order almost anything for you and are super nice!”), Pegasus, Books Inc. and Moe's. And recently she visited City Lights in San Francisco, with their “small but utterly unbelievable children's section. I could have spent a thousand dollars there easily! Really amazing stuff I haven't seen anywhere else.” And of course you can always take your wish list to your local library and test out new titles before you buy!

Does your family have a favorite children’s book not mentioned here? Share it in the comments section below!

Sandbox Diaries Vol. 3

Overheard at CCC...

Pearl (BY) on the day of the school Feast: "I walked a Front Yarder named Wren to the feast and I sat with her too."
Mom: "Wren, that's a pretty name. Did you know that's a kind of bird?"
Pearl (exasperated): "She wasn't a BIRD mom; she was a little GIRL!"

Back Yarders Hazel Rose and Josie figuring out their game.
Hazel Rose: "I want to be the main character."
Josie: "Why do you always want to be the main character?"
Hazel Rose: "Because the main character never dies."
Josie: "Let's have two main characters."
Hazel Rose: "OK!"

Back Yarders Host a Feast

Last month the Back Yarders welcomed the Front Yarders to their classroom for the annual pre-Thanksgiving Feast. Prior to the big event, Back Yard teacher Lara read the classic tale Stone Soup with the kids. On the day of the Feast, each child brought an assigned vegetable and the class worked together to cook up their own (and might I add delicious!) version of stone soup.

In their roles as hosts, the Back Yarders were each assigned a Front Yarder to escort to the table and to sit with at lunch time. Front Yarders made cornbread to contribute to the meal. With the whole school--kids, teachers and participating parents--gathered together over warm bowls of soup, the Feast was a vision of community togetherness, a perfect beginning to the holiday season.

(Thanks to Annie Burke for the photo)

Food, Glorious Food

Front Yard mom Sara Hinkley shares the culinary joys of the season, and a recipe for a delicious CCC-inspired cranberry relish.

For the past several weeks, the Front Yarders have been busy peeling, mixing, measuring, grinding, cutting, baking and eating. They made applesauce (first making "apple yoyos"), pumpkin pancakes, cornmeal pancakes, cornbread (for the all-school feast) and cranberry relish (which every Front Yarder got to take home for Thanksgiving weekend).

This is the season for eating: for celebrating the last big harvest before winter, for cherishing the foods associated with early Americans (pumpkin, cranberry, corn, sweet potatoes, nuts), for celebrating our own cultural traditions, and filling up on warm, spiced, sweet foods for the long winter. As Allyssa reminded some of us on Friday, food is a wonderful way for children to learn about each other's cultures and backgrounds. The way to each others' hearts may just be through our stomachs!

Recipes for everything but the relish are on the wiki. Here's my adaptation of Allyssa's recipe for relish (almost the same as my mom's, who grew up on Cape Cod, where cranberries are taken very seriously.)

Cranberry Relish
1 bag cranberries (washed)
1 orange (cut into wedges, skin left on but seeds removed)
1 apple (cored)
juice of about 1/2 lemon
cinnamon (optional)
small fistful dried cherries
sugar to taste

Blend in a food processor (or hand-grinder, pictured above) and eat! I've found it does best if you let it sit to let the sugar dissolve before refrigerating. And I try to stop the food processor before it turns into mush.

-- Sara Hinkley, Ethan (FY)