If you’re hungry for something seasonal, another bountiful year for kids’ music comes to a close with a couple of new CDs with non-traditional approaches to fall and winter.
Sing of pizza and tofurkey
Thanksgiving is a reminder that food has traditionally been a go-to subject for kids’ music. Tom Glazer’s 1962 creation “On Top of Spaghetti” meets punk on Yosi’s What’s Eatin’ Yosi.
His New Jersey mates Ernie and Neal celebrate kids’ classic “Macaroni and Cheese,” on their Rock and Roll Band CD. Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer appeal with Cheryl Wheeler’s song “Potato” and more on their Grammy-winning album Bon Appetit.
Joanie Leeds meets new fans every November with “The Tofurkey Song,” from the album What A Zoo! Leeds also serves a slice of rock with “Pizza” all year long. For some context on how food gets to the table, there’s “Daddy Was a Migrant Worker” from 123Andres’ album ¡Uno, Dos, Tres Con Andrés! En Español Y En Inglés.
Entire albums around food work best when melody, wit and rhythm are prioritized over healthy-eating lessons. Dark Pie Concerns from Gustafer Yellowgold is a food-centric CD/DVD aimed at young kids that entertains the whole family. Morgan Taylor’s Grammy- nominated alter ego has spawned a worldwide fan base around his gentle wordplay and imagination, and Audible just released I’m from the Sun: The Gustafer Yellowgold Story.The Bobs acapella group’s founder Gunnar Madsen’s I am Your Food serves up quirky wit. This is easily one of my favorite CDs of 2018. With collaborators like Bill Harley and Frances England, this collection serves up funny food songs like “Diet of Worms,”“Egg Salad in the Sun” (a brilliant Doors parody) and “10,000 Pancakes.” Older kids (8+) and their parents will relate on many levels.
Get in a holiday, winter mood
A couple of original seasonal choices round out this month.
Lucy Kalantari’s It’s the Holidays! is a five-song download of holiday tunes, from Halloween to New Year’s Day. This joyous collection should lead you to her latest full-length CD, All the Sounds. The Brooklyn-based singer turns her jazz-flavored voice to “all the sounds that bring us together.” With Grammy winner Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, her “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” offers an empowering approach to a generational question.
Finally, my favorite 2018 album has arrived in time for all winter holidays! Grammy winners The Okee Dokee Brothers’ new album/book Winterland captures the warm feelings around this time of year in an inclusive secular collection of cold-weather brilliance.
The album leans toward no specific holidays, yet leaves you feeling like
you got a present. “The bitter cold makes the bitter sweet” is a theme throughout the CD, served up in various styles. “Snowpeople” is a lovely argument against gender conformity in dressing snowpeople that extends
far beyond temperature or calendar. “Keep Me Warm” is
a danceable love song that deserves to be a classic.
Kathy O’Connell is a contributing writer to MetroKids and host of the Peabody award-winning Kids Corner, on air Mon.–Thurs., 7–8pm on WXPN 88.5 FM.
 winter mood.){kind=link}