Pickin' & Grinnin': Great Folk Songs for Kids

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5 Year-olds

Part Number: 081227982171

Feature: Various Artists

Feature: Music for Little People

Feature: Why we chose this music

Feature: About the music

Feature 5 Song list

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This album explores the diverse sides of folk music through award-winning songs by folk greats like Pete Seeger, Doc Watson, and Woody Guthrie. The usual instruments of folk music - guitar, banjo, mandolin, and fiddle - are present in most songs, while some unexpected sounds from drums, piano, organ, and trumpet are also featured on select songs. This collaboration is great for sing-alongs with mom, dad, and grandparents, as adults will enjoy the old favorites as well.

Although Pickin' and Grinnin' gathers the last century's worth of classic folk tunes onto one CD, some of them have been redone and spiced up with some influence from other musical genres. For instance, "Shortnin' Bread" has a clear drum beat in the foreground and the lyrics are presented with soul rocking attitude! "I've Been Working on the Railroad" sounds like a gospel song and "Fishin' Blues" has strong bluegrass and blues overtones. "Home" is sung to a slow tempo and features some surprise minor notes, which are not heard as often on children's CDs, but are great new sounds to introduce little ones to and start diversifying their ear. "Home" also features a trilling mandolin for a unique, but pleasant, sound. The song, "Grandfather's Clock" takes a different approach by telling a story with no repeating choruses or verses. There are, of course, some originals on the album that remain untouched and are still relevant and entertaining, such as Pete Seeger's animal sound filled, ""I Had a Rooster" and Woody Guthrie's "Riding in my Car".

A large part of why these songs were picked has to do with their sing-along appeal. "Corn, Beans, & Squash" is a prime example of a fun-to-sing song, as the voices match the lyrics; the woman with the highest voice always sings the line "Corn grows up high" and the woman with the lower voice always sings, "Squash grows on the ground." This encourages kids to play around with sounds and pitches. John McCutcheon explains to listeners how folk songs such as "Skip to my Lou" change lyrics with generations. He recalls what the lyrics were when he was little versus what they are now. This is a great learning opportunity for your child, as you can share with them what the lyrics were when you were little, or encourage them to make up their own version to reflect today.

My five-year-old friend, Nick, owns this CD and listens to it about once a week. I've seen him line up all of his stuffed animals and sit in a chair facing them, play guitar in hand, and put on a show singing with the CD. He particularly loves to belt out the "Crawfish Song" and "Little Red Caboose."

--Audra

Little One Books

Children's books - music - videos

Pickin' & Grinnin': Great Folk Songs for Kids