Parent’s Choice Award: Concoctions!

“Technology–we use it to sustain us/To move and entertain us/To understand life’s mysteries …” Dan Crow, one of the smartest and most reliable (and certainly one of the most upbeat) artists in children’s music has always had a prodigious gift for turning serious lessons about phonetics and vocabulary into a musical giggle fest. In this science-supporting new album, Crow isn’t going for overt laughter, but the entertainment value remains high, thanks to the musical bounce in producer Jimmy Hammer’s arrangements and Crow’s top-notch word-smithing, the genuine smile in his performance and the sense of discovery he conveys. Although too short, with only five songs (followed by “karaoke” versions of each), those songs are prime. “Science, Science, Science” is a joy-of-learning anthem; “You’re an Engineer,” is an ode to engineers of all kinds (“If molecules are what you mix, you’re an engineer/If circuit boards are what you fix, you’re an engineer”). Rounding it out: “Technology” (my favorite); and songs about the number seven, and loose change (“Franklin D. Dime & Abraham Penny”).