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Along with our annual round-up of the top Christian albums, this year we decided to offer up our choices for the best Christian audio products made for the younger set. We concentrated on releases aimed at elementary school and younger, because by the time kids get up to middle school years, they generally prefer the pop and rock found on the regular Best-of list. So we scoured the market to see what released this year to please kids and their parents, from the tiniest of tots to the upper-elementary set.

We found a variety of offerings, primarily broken down into three categories: lullabies and music especially for infants; Sunday school songs and cute music for preschoolers and young elementary; and more upbeat praise and worship, kid remakes of favorite radio singles, and audiobooks or story-song combinations for older kids. Out of about 50 products, we narrowed it down to our top 12:

Golden Books Music
Word Entertainment

Golden Books rivals the longstanding Cedarmont Kids brand with its line of compact discs for kids, each containing 15 songs and their split-track versions for around $6. We like this one because children revisit old favorites like "I Am a 'C'" and "The Wise Man and the Foolish Man" in musical arrangements that range from hymn-like (with added saxophone) on "Michael Row the Boat Ashore" to country strumming on "Down in My Heart" to a bluesy feel on "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." Sung by kids and for kids, Sunday School Songs offers just what you should look for in some low-dough musical fun.

Steve Green
Sparrow Records

The Adventures of Sir Bernard the Good Knight gets an A-plus for originality in that most kids' CDs on Christian store shelves offer just a bunch of familiar songs. Sir Bernard is a whole musical written by recording artist Steve Green to teach virtues to young children, and it's fun. Green gives us a story and some Broadway-style music that reinforce virtues from friendliness to obedience to cleanliness (plus nine others). The orphan pup Little Dog, who must befriend some scruffy kittens and learn to put others' needs ahead of his own, is a hoot.

Various
Zonderkidz

This isn't really a musical product, but we're including it because every kid should listen to this one. Zonderkidz has put together this Adventure Audio Bible so busy kids can hear children reading fully dramatized Scripture, with the added bonuses of one-minute memory songs, music, and sound effects. We like the fact that these CDs can be popped in and out of the car player, played in the kitchen, or in kids' bedrooms at night before they sleep. What a great way to get the Word into their hearts! There are lots of audio Bibles for adults. Kudos to Zonderkidz for giving us one for the elementary set.

Various
Cedarmont Kids

With the resurgence in popularity of hymns, Cedarmont Music's repackaged Hymns title from its classic collection makes our list because it introduces youngsters to classic songs of the church like "This Is My Father's World," "To God Be the Glory," and the "Doxology" while giving parents real value (under $4). The musical content actually first released in 1996, but we love the new bright cover, lower price, and especially the enhanced CD features that let you print out larger versions of the lyrics, plus coloring pages, games, and activities. This one's a winner for the six-and-under set.

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