Music Reviews are Back at School Library Journal!!
After a two and a half year hiatus, it is my great pleasure to announce that music reviews are back at School Library Journal (SLJ)! For those of you new to children’s music, you may not be aware that for two decades, SLJ was one of the premier publications for children’s music reviews. Artists would send their CDs to SLJ’s New York office where the music would then be distributed to unpaid volunteer reviewers who were working, or had experience in working, in public or school libraries. These reviews were essential to libraries across the country in selecting quality music to add to their collections and a starred review could make a real difference in album sales.
When I first started reviewing music for SLJ, around the early 2000s, music reviews were included in each monthly publication. Over the years, the music reviews went from appearing monthly, to every-other month, to quarterly, and eventually ceased all together. As a librarian, this was a big disappointment because I know the important role that music plays in early childhood literacy and without SLJ, one of the main sources for new music information disappeared. For artists, this meant that yet another major source to promote their music, in an already shrinking pool of options, was gone.
I didn’t know it at the time, but what became the final round of music reviews was published online in January 2024. Until now. In January 2026, I was contacted by SLJ and they asked if I would be willing to review up to 15 albums. The reviews would be due in March and would appear in the May 2026 print issue. Of course I said yes. With a tight timeline and winter not being a booming time for new albums, as well as frequent comments from librarians about not knowing where to look for information about children’s music, I opted to focus on albums from 2025 that featured music that librarians and teachers could use in their programs and classrooms. Reviews for all 15 albums can be found by clicking on this link.
Now, I’m excited to announce that SLJ plans to publish another round of children’s music reviews this fall! If you have an album coming out that you would like to have considered for possible review in SLJ, please email a listening link and one-pager (any information you think I should know about you and your music) to me by July 18. Please send submissions to info@kidsrhythmandrock.com. Please note: while all submissions will be considered, space in SLJ is limited to 15 reviews.