My head isn't banging, but I'm still loving Charlie Hope

When you hear my kids identifying a song from System of a Down, you get a pretty good idea of the the type of music I lean toward: Loud, fast and hard. But, that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the polar opposite of hand-banging, and I offer up my love of the Charlie Hope's I'm Me! kids' music CD as proof. With her clear-as-glass, pitch-perfect voice which calls to mind Frances England with a dash of Elizabeth Mitchell, Charlie Hope has put together a collection of songs that are written, without a doubt, for young kids, but are sung so beautifully and with so much charm that even my pre-tween and I agree this is a winner. Starting with the happy-pop title song, Charlie sings and strums her guitar to songs about things little kids care about, like trains, frogs and that new baby that is about to come into the family. Slipping between folksy pop, a capella and narrative, this CD speaks directly to kids, sometimes quite literally, as in The Frog Song in which kids interrupt the silly lyrics to correct her. The fact that I also want to listen to a song about frogs and interrupting kids should be proof enough that this kids' CD rocks, so to speak.