If you're taking a picnic lunch, make sure that anything with meat, poultry, egg or mayonnaise is stored in a cooler with an ice pack to prevent spoilage. If there's even a small risk of upset tummies, keep an empty ice cream bucket under the front seat. Individual Walkmans will prevent conflict and save your own eardrums. But if the car tape machine is your only option, make sure to pick music you can tolerate. But don't limit yourself to kiddie performers.
Most children respond to melodic pop, light jazz and rock and roll.
Try Britteny Spears, the Backstreet Boys, Diana Krall, Eric Clapton and Elton John. Reading in the car can nauseate even the most iron-stomached kid. So consider books on tape. Your public library or favourite bookstore should have a good selection. If you're really organized, ask your children to record themselves reading favourite short stories, jokes or poems before the trip.