Elizabeth Mitchell's second album, "You Are My Sunshine" is a mixture of classic children's songs and Mitchell's original songs influenced by folk, rock, and gospel. Mitchell's husband and young daughter join her in some of the songs. The steady, slower beat in most songs combined with Mitchell's gentle voice creates a calming effect that is sure to keep your little one calm but entertained. Listeners will hear guitar, drums, bass, piano, bells, and a steel guitar.

Elizabeth Mitchell's amiable voice feels like soft caresses on your cheek, making even classics like "You Are My Sunshine", "Skip to my Lou", and "Goodnight Irene" sound new and beautiful. Her husband and daughter join her softly in about half of the songs on the album, creating a pretty harmony. Mitchell's daughter sings the first verse of "Crawdad" a capella before Mitchell, her guitar, and the bass join in for the second verse. Mitchell even covers the 60s rock song made famous by Cat Stevens, "Here comes My Baby" and makes it sound perfectly natural as a mellow children's song. "Going Down the Road" is one of Mitchell's own songs which have tiny bells dispersed throughout the song, giving it a dream-like quality. "So Glad I'm Here" is very upbeat and sounds gospel inspired; although it is just Mitchell singing with a piano, bells, and clapping in the background, it sounds like a choir could break in at any moment. Each song has an instrument that is dedicated to keeping the steady beat, and can be picked out by listeners.

Your little one may very well want to sing or hum along, especially when Mitchell's daughter can be heard piping in whenever she knows the words. The song, "Car Ride" is full of fun noises to emulate, such as the "Click clack" of the car door, the "Vroom vroom" of the vehicle" and going "Zoom zoom" home. It ends with real car horns honking, which your child will certainly recognize and enjoy! "Alphabet Dub" is a great learning tool or aid to teaching your little one the alphabet, as the entire alphabet is heard six times throughout the song. By the sixth verse, only a few of the letters are sung by Mitchell, giving listeners a chance to fill in the blanks. "Lady Bug Picnic" teaches numbers up to 12 with plenty of repetition for your little one to practice.

My three-year-old friend, Sam, really enjoyed the song "Ooby Dooby". When I asked him what he liked about that song so much, he said it was his stuffed alligator's name. This is just a crazy guess, but I'm assuming that Sam heard the song before the alligator was named; otherwise, that is the weirdest coincidence ever!

--Audra

This recording is Mitchell's second album, released in 2003 after the birth of her child, Storey, who also sings on the album. Mitchell is inspired by folk greats, Woody Guthrie and Elizabeth Cotton. Prior to touring fulltime, Mitchell was an assistant teacher at a nursery school.

1 - So Glad I'm Here

2 - Skip to my Lou

3 - Ladybug Picnic

4 - Hey Bo diddley

5 - Crawdad

6 - Alphabet Dub

7 - Car Car

8 - Ooby Dooby

9 - You Are My Sunshine

10 - Goin Down the Road

11 - Black Jack Baby

12 - Jubilee

13 - Here Comes My Baby

14 - 3 Is the Magic Number

15 - Froggy Went A Courtin'

16 - Goodnight Irene