Growing up in Canada, I had three particular albums of kids’ music that got played over and over (and over) again: Sharon, Lois, and Bram’s One Elephant, Deux Elephants, Raffi Cavoukian’s Singable Songs, and a rather obscure recording by a German children’s choir (sent to me by a favourite Aunt) which included a sung version of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. So when my daughter was born, I was ecstatic to find and download remastered digital versions of the very same songs I had loved as a child (although, alas, not the Oberkirchen children’s choir). Even more fun for me, as a mom and as a musician, was to discover a whole range of wonderful kids’ singer-songwriters that had emerged since my long-ago childhood.

My Australian-raised hubby introduced my canuck ears to this Aussie institution. Our little one came along just as the first-ever female Wiggle, the bow-wearing, ballet-dancing, drum-playing Emma, made her debut. She listened to the original group, as well as new Wiggle songs (“Do the Propellor” and other songs on the Taking Off album kept her entertained on more than one long flight). But it was Emma that turned my daughter into a number-one Wiggle fan. Emma announced her retirement from the band in 2021, but don’t worry, there’s a new female Wiggle donning the yellow jersey. They’ve been around Oz forever, but finally the Wiggles are building international recognition; I know they’ll be a hit on any pre-schooler’s playlist.

Fun songs with animal and environmental themes, Brent’s “Moose Toones,” “Bear tunes,” and, okay, “Cow Tunes,” all vibe to my Canadian upbringing. But his Island Tunes (ie. “The Kooky Little Coconut”) gets played more than anything else in our house and car (maybe because my sis had recently moved to Hawaii when we discovered these songs). My daughter and I still argue over whether “I Left my Boat out in the Bay” or “Volcano Juice” is the best track on the album, but either way, we both sing along.