Irish Cast Offers a Scheherazade Story With a Lilt and a Surprise

Audio

O’Sullivan Stew, Children’s Book-of-the-Month Club. Cassette: $10 (book published by Putnam, $16). Children’s Book World: (310) 559-2665; BMOC: (800) 348-7128; https://www.amazon.com/.

In Scheherazade fashion, young Kate O’Sullivan saves her brothers Kelly and Fergus and her father, Seamus, by telling tall tales to a king in this colorfully performed theatrical audio version of the children’s book by Hudson Talbott.

The O’Sullivans are accused of stealing from the king when they set out to rescue a horse that really belongs to the village witch.

To avoid the hangman’s rope, inventive Kate strikes a bargain with the young king: If she can prove that all the O’Sullivans have been in predicaments worse than the one they now face, he will let them go free. So Kate spins tales of her family’s encounters with leprechauns, fairy children, a greedy sea serpent, magical seals, demonic singing cats and wolves and a one-eyed giant.

The admiring but skeptical king receives verification of her veracity from an unexpected quarter, but the happily-ever-after ending is different than expected: Kate is a strong-minded heroine who isn’t ready for her adventures to end in a royal wedding.

The all-Irish cast includes noted comedian Frank Kelly; musical accompaniment is performed by members of the band Solas, based in New York and Dublin.

*

Daddy a go go: Cool Songs for Cool Kids. Boyd’s Tone Records. CD: $11; cassette: $9.

https://www.daddyagogo.com/, https://www.amazon.com/, Redeye Distributors: (336) 578-7300.

John Boydston and Walt Brewer, a couple of musician dads, give this compilation of mostly original songs a lively guitar-and-drum-driven, early-’60s go-go beat. It’s bopping-along traveling music with a take on everything from “Daddy’s Diaper Blues” (“I’m sittin’ here wonderin’, clothespin holdin’ my nose”) to “A Dog Named Boomer” (“he laughs at all my mailman jokes”) and the effect of drinking too much sugary grape juice before bedtime: a “Dads in the Sky” dream.

There’s a catchy “ABC Song” and, from someone who’s been there: “Adventures in the Carpool” (“Daddy’s Drivin’ Carpool today. . . . When everyone in the back starts to fight, his face turns red, his knuckles turn white. . . .”).

“Brush Your Teeth” and “I Can Swing by Myself” attest to more real dad experience.

The non-original tunes are cartoon themes, “Scooby Doo, Where Are You?” and “Go Speed Racer Go,” and there are rockin’ instrumentals, too: “The Thang From Planet Twang,” “I Got My PF Flyers Workin” and others.

*

Mickey’s Comedy for Kids. Walt Disney Records. Cassette: $7. (888) WDR-SING; https://www.disney.com/DisneyRecords

Visit “Mickey’s Laugh Shack” for really corny kid jokes (“What kind of fur do you get from a skunk?” “As fur as you can,” says Goofy) and comic songs. “Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?,” sung country style by Teresa James, is the album highlight.

Minnie and Daisy Duck do tongue-twister “Frida Little Ate a Little,” Donald does knock-knock jokes and Walt Disney’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” gets Goofy’s verbal spin--”big flood” becomes “flig bud,” for instance.

Satirist Roy Zimmerman, who does the “Atchoo!” song, changed hats to co-write and co-produce the bubbly album with his wife, Melanie Harby.

*

Songs From Jim Henson’s Bear in the Big Blue House. Walt Disney Records. Cassette: $10. (888) WDR-SING; https://www.disney.com/DisneyRecords

“Welcome to the Blue House”: Big, comforting, quiet Bear, little Ojo, Tutter the mouse and the gang from the Disney Channel’s laudable preschooler show sing confidence-boosting, affirming songs about friendship, family, growing and learning. Kids don’t need to be familiar with the show to enjoy this happy, well-produced album: The messages are positive, the music is sophisticated and singable and Bear’s trademark gentle warmth shines throughout.