KidTunes: Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat Is Good for Everyone
There are a lot of scary characters who show up in songs--the big bad wolf, Hitler, the devil, Dracula—but I have now met the scariest of all, “Junk Food Man.” Jay Mankita sings about him on Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat, an album released by New York Coalition for Healthy School Food. WAIT! Don’t stop reading—this is the one album I’d buy for a kid, if I could buy only one.
Songs about food, eating, and wise decisions alternate with stories and rhymes all meant to reinforce (or suggest) healthy choices for children. Okay, I admit “sounds boring,” but I swear to you, it’s not. There are 60 selections representing all genres of music, from folk to soul, from rock to samba, and stories that entertain (and, yes, educate). Many popular children’s artists (such as Uncle Rock, Oran Etkin, Sara Hickman, Bill Harley) perform on Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat, and they are joined by artists from a variety of musical—and other--backgrounds (Julian Lennon, Trout Fishing in America, Russell Simmons, Jessica Harper, Tom Chapin, Uncle Floyd Vivino).
Although the emphasis is on fruits and veggies, there are songs that emphasize positive self-image, and the joys of life and the world. Not only will kids enjoy singing along, they will also be amused by the witty rhymes and even learn what’s good and bad nutritionally.
Healthy Food for Thought: Good Enough to Eat is fun. Sure it’s educational and benefits a worthwhile cause, but that won’t stand in the way of the merriment.
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