What a welcome change this collection is! Completely free of the arch, cloying ickiness that sometimes informs even the most well-intentioned kids' music offerings, these tunes may well help create a vanguard of pint-sized, sophisticated (in the best sense of the word!) world citizens. While not all of the selections were originally composed with this market in mind, the music is nonetheless delightfully child-appropriate in content, rhythmic bounciness and melodic saturation. The producers have rightly assumed that youngsters are small but sentient beings whose developing tastes and interests need to be engaged and encouraged. The styles employed evoke a nostalgic yet ultra-contemporary enfant boulevardier's world of cafés, bicyclettes with bells, bals musette and le jazz hot, so that parents will also be charmed and not find themselves left out of the experience, or worse, rolling their eyes and diving for cover. The songs not only reflect daily life as encountered by children living in France but accurately portray that nation's modern cultural melting pot -- where immigrants and visitors from Africa, the Caribbean and North America, regardless of encroaching ultra-right isolationism, have indelibly graced the national consciousness with their own traditions and dialects. --Christina Roden

French Playground, a musical rendez-vous of fun French and French Creole songs will delight children of all ages. French Playground reflects the rich variety of Francophone music. Bilingual families and children learning French or English will enjoy the fact that the complete lyrics for each song are printed in both languages. The CD features full-color liner notes with artist and cultural information. The artists on French Playground include some of the most popular children’s performers in their respective countries, along with successful pop artists such as Pascal Parisot, Thomas Fersen, Tryo and Ariane Moffat whose songs were selected for their all-ages appeal. Musical styles range from French chanson and Gypsy jazz to the twoubadou music of Haiti and the roots-bending style of Triton, who is from Mauritius, an island off the east coast of Africa. Gallic joie de vivre is expressed in each of the tunes, from the opening song’s invitation to "tickle the sun" with a ladybug (Chatouiller le Ciel avec Toi), to songs that celebrate the beauty of the South of France ("Clic-Clac Oh C’est Beau!". Listeners share a boisterous Sunday dinner with family (La P’tite Monnaie). Some of the tracks provide tasty little slices of French life, including "Bonjour,Bonjour", which tells of a little bus’s journey past boulangeries and other neighborhood spots. Children will also enjoy a young man’s memories of staying with his grandparents (Petit Francais). A portion of the proceeds from the sale of French Playground will benefit Terre des Hommes, whose efforts provide active support to disadvantaged children around the world.