If the kids in your life already have dominion over your music streaming apps, you will soon be able to shift their obsession over to your vinyl collection. Jack White’s Third Man Records and Seattle-based A Light In The Attic Records have teamed up on an exclusive kids’ compilation album. Their goal is to “show impressionable, young minds the virtues of good music and vinyl records,” because it’s never too early to (try to) instill impeccable tastes in your offspring.
The album, “This Book Belongs To ____________”, was inspired by the Little Golden Books series and Sesame Street’s “In Harmony” albums. The record will be accompanied by an original storybook by Brooklyn illustrator Jess Rotter, which will tell the tale of a mysterious, flat disc found by forest animals. So your children will learn about records while listening to one.
The tracks were selected and sequenced by Zach Cowie, whom you might know as half of Wooden Wisdom (the other half’s Elijah Wood). The list includes songs from Carole King, Shel Silverstein, Nina Simone, Kermit The Frog, and more. Before becoming an album, the compilation was shared and enjoyed among the labels’ staffs and families, so the music’s kid-tested and parent/guardian-approved.
Third Man has also created a portable, lightweight children’s record player so the little ones can also learn independence by putting needle to groove. It comes with built-in speakers, USB port and cable, and recording/editing software so you can convert to digital format (which would seem to defeat the purpose of the record and turntable, but is probably just meant to ensure you can take the music with you).
“This Book Belongs To ____________” will be available for download as well as on LP and CD beginning November 6, but you can already preorder on the labels’ sites.
[h/t: Pitchfork]