Mary Kaye is a singer/songwriter based in southern Maine. MOUSE JAMBOREE is her second release, and it clearly reflects the lives of her daughters, who were 6 and 4 at the time of the CD's release. While many children's music artists cast a wide net, singing about generalized childhood topics for the generic kid -- saying hello in foreign languages, variations on the ABC song, or songs about other familiar kid-pleasers subjects -- Kaye's lyrics reflect a mom who closely observes her children's interests.

Reminiscent of Jonathan Richman's sensibility, Kaye's writes about the simple pleasures of hole-digging or sitting by the heater. Other songs tell magical tales of elves, unicorns, and tooth fairies. Her warbly vocals recall Natalie Merchant or Ricki Lee Jones, and her appealing folk rock arrangements include some pleasing harmonies and vocal layering that's a notch more sophisticated than your garden variety kid entertainers.

Kaye's whimsical perspective offers a Thumbelina's eye-view account in a song that allows little listeners to see the world through teeny tiny eyes and consider a life in which "a blade of grass is like a tree." Bringing yet another classic book to musical life, she sings about a scared, but daring mountain-climbing train without actually mentioning "The Little Engine That Could."

"The Library Book" wittily recounts the tale of a rare and cherished book that the singer and her kids have checked out of the library over and over again. This song can help parents get their own kids psyched for a library visit or talk about the wonder of the library system.

With Kaye's well-crafted lyrics you an almost feel the dog-eared pages. Kaye's rich warm music is something that, like the beloved library book, families will want to play again and again.