It’s Fair Trade Friday!

...And play it often. You’ll have no trouble when you download an album or buy a CD of traditional folk or dance music by fair trade farmers and artisans from around the world. It’s fun for kids to listen to and a great introduction to different kinds of music and rhythms they otherwise may not be exposed to.

Try:

Musicians Farmers and Poets by Nicaraguan Fair Trade Farmers (CD or MP3 download)

Music from the Chocolate Lands

Putumayo World Party - Dance music from around the world

Acoustic Brazil - Brazilian music & Portugese lyrics. A portion of the proceeds form the sale of this CD are donated to AMENCAR, an organization dedicated to helping the struggle for the civil rights of children in Brazil.

From $6.99-$16.95

Keeping kidlets occupied while traveling is no mean feat. We’ve all used portable DVD players for their favorite movies and toting along a zillion books to read on the plane, but here’s another cool idea from Travel Time Stories….it’s a personalized CD full of favorite kidlet stories.

Every story has a customized introduction, spoken to your child using his or her first name, to explain what to listen for in the story. The introduction includes a well-known classical music excerpt, with music played by a symphony or chamber orchestra, from composers such as Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Handel, and Beethoven. Your child’s name will be custom printed on the CD’s label.

There are 3 CD’s to choose from and any one of them would be a perfect gift for your kidlet or even a for a grandparent to keep for their babysitting days. Stories include many familiar favorites such as Hansel and Gretel, The Princess and the Pea, The Emperor’s New Clothes and many more. Enjoy!

$15.95 + shipping

Remember Peter and the Wolf? No, not the cartoon but the honest-to-goodness audio story with music by Prokofieff and everything? Somewhere along the line great stories that used to be found on records (and don’t ask be what an LP is because I’ll feel so old that I might have to smack you) for kids got lost amongst CDs and MP3 players full of playlists of The Wiggles - ugh.

But there’s an unsung (pardon the pun) hero out there called Kiddie Records. Their sole purpose is to preserve children’s stories from old LPs and make them available to you — for FREE — to download for your kidlets. That is so cool.

Just head on over to their website and you will find hundreds of classic children’s records from the 1940’s and beyond available for free — you can download them or choose to listen straight from the computer. Once a week for three years they offered a different record so you will find plenty to choose from.

Enjoy!

Grandparents will recognize this classic tune originally by Johnny Mercer. So much fun for little ones…I remember it from my childhood even. (And yes, the spelling is correct on these original lyrics):

I know a ditty nutty as a fruitcake
Goofy as a goon and silly as a loon
Some call it pretty others call it crazy
But they all sing this tune:

Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you? Yes! Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you?
If the words sound queer, and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled and jivey, Sing “Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy” Oh! Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats and liddle lamzy divey A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you - oo? A kiddley divey too, wouldn’t you?

Listen to a sample! - by The Merry Macs
(Windows Media Player)

Or have a listen to The Three Stooges version (available as MP3):

Song Title	Artist	Time	Price
	Mairzy Doats	The Three Stooges	1:54	$0.99