Mail Myself to You
The art of the children's song has a special place in folk music, a genre which has always valued sincere communication, simplicity, and the widest definition of community possible. At one level, even a murder ballad like "Tom Dooley" was designed to appeal to the young.  John McCutcheon is a children's folk songster par excellence, and here he draws on tunes by Guthrie and Malvina Reynolds, as well as traditionals like "Over in the Meadow" and "Hambone." Accompanied only by guitar and dulcimer, there's a sweet air of whimsy and generosity to these 12 songs, and a fairly infectious delight in the innocence of childhood. --Roy Francis Kasten