It Takes a Village Performed by Ginalina
Vancouver-based Ginalina’s latest album for families is a delightful, up-tempo celebration of love. Beginning with the opening track, “Welcome to the Neighbourhood,” It Take a Village draws listeners in by emphasizing the importance of community and opening our hearts and embracing one another. This theme continues in the title track, “It Takes a Village” all the way through the final song on the album, the beautiful, “Goodnight Lullaby.” In between are songs that let children know that change doesn’t have to be scary, that they can be anything that want when they grow up, and that doing things together is better than doing them alone.
Ginalina continues her tradition of writing songs that honor nature with tunes about the winter weather, the arrival of spring, and the life cycle of bunnies. Also included on the album is the French tune, “Dans la Rivière (tous Connectés) and the multi-lingual song “Apple Apple Seed” which is performed in English, French and Chinese. Ginalina’s folk-pop sound is accentuated by uplifting melodies and lyrics that encourage audience participation. “It Takes a Village” is a true delight.
UPDATE: It was announced today that It Takes a Village is nominated for the 2019 Juno (Canada’s Music Award) for Best Children’s Album.
Welcome to the first post of 2019! What better way is there to start the year than with Tim Kubart’s joy-filled album, Building Blocks? Released in fall 2018, this GRAMMY-nominated album is packed with Kubart’s signature upbeat pop sound. Many of the tracks speak to milestones in a child’s life – the first time jumping in the deep end, riding a bike without training wheels, and getting a pet – but with lyrics that stretch beyond that experience. A great example of this is the boppy “Jump Right In” which details a child mentally gearing up to leap into the pool while his whole family looks on and includes the lyric, “nothing to be scared of, when you’re surrounded by love.”
I love the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. While it can be filled with lots of special events, extra cars on the road and crabby shoppers, it’s also the only time of the year when I can curl up in my softest, coziest blanket, sip a cup of hot cocoa, turn off all but the twinkly lights and relax while I enjoy some of my all-time favorite music. This year, the folks at Sugar Mountain PR have compiled a free list of new songs and perhaps new-to-you songs from 16 different children’s artists. Click 
Veteran songwriters Randy Sharp and Dave Kinnoin return with their third delightfully silly and fun collaboration, Snorkel. Each song tells a story using lyrics that respect the children’s ability to listen closely. The stories may be about a lumberjack who gives his rather large dog a bath, a child who was just trying to be nice and let a squirrel inside, or an ode to the family cat. In with all of the silliness, Randy & Dave also cleverly weave important messages. In “Everybody’s Ignorant,” the emphasis is on the fact that we can’t all know everything while in “Why Not” the main character, rather than simply accepting that something is not possible, decides to use his inquiring mind to figure out “why not” instead. Randy & Dave don’t shy away from using difficult vocabulary on occasion, incorporating terms like hirsute, distortion and consternation into their songs. They provide all of the words and music from Snorkel 
This fall The Okee Dokee Brothers returned with Winterland, the follow-up to their “Adventure Album Series.” This new album finds the GRAMMY Award-winning duo of Joe Mailander and Justin Lansing celebrating the cold and snowy winter season. This collection of 16 songs is a beautiful combination of music that embraces the wonders of this unsung time of year as well as some important life lessons. The album opens with “Blankets of Snow,” a great reminder that the cold weather outside is what leads to the warmth and coziness inside. On the opposite end of the cozy spectrum is “Ice Fishin’ Shack” an ode to a past time that is not for the winter faint-of-heart. And don’t miss the tale of the poor, misunderstood “Abominable Yeti,” who it turns out is an upstanding citizen and overall nice creature.
Come for the covers, stay for the fantastic music!
