Book titles are like song titles, album titles or even band names. Believe me, I've spent a lot of time on the last three. They need just the right combination of words, sounds and signifiers to make them sit just right. They need a bit of creativity and a whole lot of crafting to sum up the product, grab people's attention and help everyone involved to feel nice about it. ​​My book is about recordings made for children. I use the word 'records' to refer not only to the spin

I have been writing and performing music for children and families for nearly 15 years. I've written and recorded at least 200 songs for youngsters. I've done hundreds of 'gigs for cool kids' with my band Johnny and the Raindrops. But why, oh, why, oh, why (Woody Guthrie reference) do I do it, and continue to do it? Without getting too deep into psychoanalysis and my own childhood experiences ('nuff said) here are my four reasons for writing and performing for children. 1. I

Surely, there's nothing that makes me, or you, or anyone else angry about music made for children. Anger is such a strong emotion and children's music is nice and smiley and colourful, right? First up, for me, the best children's culture depicts anger (and other emotions) and allows children to recognise it, and deal with it. Think of Animal from The Muppets, Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are, the characters of Pixar's Inside Out, Angry Birds, or the perils of UniKit

Once upon a time, not so long ago, everyone seemed to be singing to me, or about me. Records made for children or even by children seemed to