Old Mr. Mackle Hackle’s Zany Yet Tempered Lessons

Audio

Old Mr. Mackle Hackle. Gunnar Madsen. G-Spot Records. $14.95. (800) 711-3627. All ages. https://www.gunnarspot.com

Yes, it’s that Gunnar Madsen, co-founder of the avant-garde a capella group the Bobs. Bringing the same wildly different lyric and musical creativity to his first children’s album, Madsen has tempered zaniness with a keen-eyed awareness that goes straight to the heart of childhood.

Stroll down an unforgettable country “Chicken Road”; listen to a bunch of 1950s-style, tough-guy T. Rexes explain that they were “Born to Chew”; learn to live life “The Evelyn Way” (a jazzy life lesson from a happy little pig); or listen to an erudite “Tiny Mosquito” define himself in a deft--and biting--comic operetta baritone.

Madsen changes mood, though not his idiosyncratic lyric spin, in the serene, image-rich “Selling Lemonade” and in “Flying, Flying,” an evocation of the joyous freedom kids dream of: soaring solo until it gets scary, then being gathered in by mom and dad, cozy and safe until it’s time to try those wings again.

Say Hello to the Morning. Kathy Reid-Naiman. Merriweather Records. CD: $16; cassette: $10. Ages infant to 7. https://www.interlog.com/ ~ragged/merriweather.html/.

This is one big sunny smile of an album. When Kathy Reid-Naiman performs, it’s just about impossible not to tap your foot and sing along. The eclectic collection of bouncy folk songs, traditional and contemporary children’s songs, finger plays and spoken rhymes includes Hap Palmer’s “What Are You Wearing?,” Bill Wellington’s “There’s a Dog in the School” (with barking accompaniment), Malvina Reynolds’ dreamy “Morningtown Ride,” the celebratory folk song “Jubilee” and Sally Jaeger’s and Reid-Naiman’s “Baby Bear Waltz.”

Reid-Naiman joins other terrific musicians who play a wide range of instruments, from harmonica, ukulele and accordion to piano, fiddle and washboard.

This Pretty Planet. Tom Chapin. Sony Wonder. CD: $12. (800) 221-8180, Ext. 5.

Folk singer Tom Chapin follows his Grammy-nominated children’s album, “In My Hometown,” with a collection of old, new and revised songs on ecological themes. Guest performers who join in are gospel singer Cissy Houston, Judy Collins and Dr. Ruth Westheimer, whose unmistakable heavily accented, jovial English is heard during “Two Kinds of Seagulls,” about--what else?--procreation.

“This Pretty Planet,” Chapin’s and John Forster’s inspirational, beautiful anthem to the Earth (“you’re a garden, you’re a harbor, you’re a holy place”) is heard in its original 1988 version and in a new version (“This Pretty Planet II”). Other songs offer wisdom and humor about recycling, the seasons, clean fuel alternatives, and stopping to feel the Earth and see the stars amid the everyday rush and artificial noise.

The tone is thoughtful and inclusive, not preachy, as Chapin and company invite listeners to consider their place in the world and the interconnectedness of all living things.

Video

Bear in the Big Blue House: Visiting the Doctor With Bear. Columbia TriStar Home Video. $10-$13.

This Jim Henson series, the Disney Channel’s best show for preschoolers, is all about helping growing children understand their expanding world. These two segments, filled with Muppet magic, animations, songs, shadow puppets and an end-of-day recap with Luna the Moon, offer useful, anxiety-reducing information about doctors.

With great big gentle Bear’s patient and loving guidance, viewers see purple otters Pip and Pop, bear cub Ojo and all the Blue House gang get checkups. They see what a pediatrician’s waiting room and examination room look like, and how an X-ray works when Tutter the mouse fractures his tail.

Knowing what’s going to happen and how things work is reassuring; so is Doc Hogg’s nifty little song, “Just say ow, and it’s over,” a tuneful, easy-to-remember tool for those dreaded “ouch” moments, especially at vaccination time.