Sandra McCracken has recorded a new children’s album Big Stories for Little Ones with a few other women artists who also have young children. They call themselves Rain for Roots. What I especially like about this album is that the songs are not silly, nor are they childish. They are appropriate for children but they don’t dumb down their theology or their music – they just want melodies that kids will remember and they enjoy singing. They’ve succeeded well with this album. They used lyrics by Sally Lloyd Jones, who is the author of the wonderful Jesus Bible Storybook. (Check out the review of Big Stories for Little Ones that my husband wrote for The Banner.)

Sandra recently wrote an article for Christianity Today about how she approaches music for kids. The article encouraged me to think a bit more about what songs we are teaching our children. It might be a bit much to ask for a children’s song that is strong enough to last a life-time but, lets face it, aren’t there songs you learned in Sunday School that you still remember? There are some that I still know. Some of them are great but some of them have theology that is questionable at best. If possible I want to give our kids songs that will serve them well throughout their life. Last year the children in Sunday School learned the song “Take O Take Me As I Am,” a song that I’ll be pleased to have them remember when they’re older.

What songs do you think are songs that are child-friendly but yet have longevity?