If your idea of children’s music conjures up memories of vinyls featuring off-key children’s voices and an equally out-of-tune, toy piano (or synthesizer, if you grew up after 1980) or some guitar-playing adult trying to sing like a 5-year-old, be assured that children’s music has finally caught up with other genres in terms of quality production. Now artists making kids' music respect their audience, their art and (oddly enough) their roots, while connecting with children.

MercyMe and Various Artists
"I Can Only Imagine: Lullabies for a Peaceful Rest"
Simpleville Music
The title cut is a lullaby version of 2003’s massive crossover hit, with more fluid, relaxing instrumentals and less assertive vocals. “Three of us have kids,” says MercyMe’s Nathan Cochran, “so we thought this sounded like a good idea. Ever since ‘Imagine’ has been around, parents of 1 and 2-year-olds have told us that their kids, who could barely talk, were already singing along to it. So we thought we’d take their advice, but it definitely needed to be reworked for a lullaby album.”

Go Fish
"Splash"
Two Fish Records
The Go Fish trio — Jamie Statema, Andy Selness, Jason Folkmann — had released six other albums before releasing "Splash," its first album specifically for children. “Our focus was junior high, high-school and college [students],” explains Statema, founder and front man. “What we noticed early on [however] was that entire families would attend our concerts — grandparents to little kids. Stylistically, the loops make what we do current enough to where the kids really like it; but, at the same time, there’s no guitar or drums out there to freak out grandma and grandpa.”

"Splash" bears witness to the trio’s seamless harmony yet connects with the human intricacies of childhood.

“Our goal was to make a kid’s CD that wouldn’t drive everyone else bonkers because once kids latch onto something, they want to hear it over and over again."

Steve Green
"The Adventures of Sir Bernard the Good Knight"
EMI-CMG
Scheduled to release in October, Steve Green’s latest project, "The Adventures of Sir Bernard the Good Knight," an action-packed musical adventure designed to teach children 12 moral truths, features the work of veterans from "The Lion King", "Veggie Tales", Broadway theater and even “The Simpsons.”

Narrated by Green, "Sir Bernard" is a musical journey taken by the heroic knight (a St. Bernard) and Little Dog, an orphan pup who longs to be a knight. Through Little Dog’s mistakes, children can see that even if you don’t get things right the first time, don’t give up altogether.