The Surprising Meaning and Benefits of Nursery Rhymes

By Michael Sizer

Whenever you recite "Humpty Dumpty" to your kids, did you know that you might be relating a story about a 450-year-old battle? According to some interpretations, the nursery rhyme tells of the 1648 Siege of Colchester during the English Civil War, when the king's army set up a powerful cannon ("Humpty Dumpty," a mocking term for a fat and clumsy man dating to the Middle Ages) to defend their position, only to see it fall and break to pieces when Parliamentary army forces collapsed the wall beneath it. Royalist troops ("all the king’s horses and all the king's men") could not repair the cannon ("put Humpty Dumpty together again") and eventually lost the battle.

Susie Tallman on Channel 4 KOBTV

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio - Winner Gold Seal Award 2010

for Come On, Let's Go! DVD

Each of the classic songs is produced with a small "story" that is either danced or illustrated with animated images and sung by Susie Tallman. The collection is made up largely of familiar songs such as Puff the Magic Dragon. Five Little Ducks, I've Been Working on the Railroad and other such favorites. They are not over done, yet there is just enough action to entertain. The opening number, Let's Go is probably our least favorite and some kids may not like the "clown" type fellow in high hat and funny makeup who recites some nonsense verses, but you can just skip over the ones you don't love. All in all this is a good music DVD for preschoolers. 3 & up. Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2010.

New Mexico Kids! Family Magazine - 2010 Holiday Gift Guide

November 2010

for Come On, Let's Go! DVD

Susie Tallman's DVD Adventure (2-8 years)

This new DVD, "Come On, Let's Go!," includes 23 fun music videos by local award-winning singers and producer, Susie Tallman. Acting out traditional songs, from "Five Little Ducks" to "I've been Working on the Railroad," Tallman and her crew can soothe a restless toddler and inspire preschoolers to dance. The DVD includes some songs that will really crack up the kids, like "The Old Family Toothbrush." $15.99 at susietallman.com and Zap...Oh! Children's Clothing Store in Nob Hill.

Winner of the Parent's Choice Recommended Award

September 2010

for Come On, Let's Go! DVD

Rock Me Baby Records presents Come On, Let's Go! Susie Tallman and friends, a colorful collection of more than twenty music-video type performances featuring, of course, Susie Tallman and friends, singing and dancing to classic children's songs. This DVD provides 45-minutes of entertainment for tots who like to bop, featuring fun costumes, inventive graphics, puppets, and plenty of kids moving and grooving on themed location shoots.

Although the suggested age range is 2 - 8, the content most likely will appeal to the younger kids in your household. Music selections include Mary had a Little Lamb, B-I-N-G-O, I'm a Little Teapot, and You are my Sunshine, among others pre-school staples. Their rendition of Monkeys on a Bed has an interesting hip-hop twist, but overall, performances are simple, sweet, and traditional. The combination of Susie Tallman's clear, pleasant voice and costumed performances brings a cheerful kind of freshness to songs we've all heard before, and the location material is nicely shot and pleasing to view.

Come On, Let's Go! is an earnest effort with a satisfying overall effect, and it's a way to bring some fun new visuals to the classic children's songs your kids already know and love.

Albuquerque Journal

November 2009

Rock Me Baby Records, helmed by founder and president Susie Tallman Yarbrough and vice-president Amy Steadman, is a well-kept Albuquerque secret. The company has produced seven award-winning albums of music for children since 1999 and sells CDs in 650 stores and online – both nationwide and internationally.

Scholastic Parent & Child

November 2009

for Let's Go! Travel, Camp and Car Songs

A CD of travel-friendly tunes by Susie Tallman, full of upbeat songs with unique twists, such as "Polly Wolly Doodle" on the steel drum or "Boom Chicka Boom" honky-tonk style. iParenting Media award winner!

Parents' Choice - Portable Picks for Traveling with Kids

June 2009

for Let's Go! Travel, Camp and Car Songs

Each month the Parents’ Choice® website features several articles that help guide families in making their family activities more fun, interactive, and thought provoking for their children. This month, Let's Go! Travel, Camp, and Car Songs was featured in the Portable Picks article!

Let's Go! takes you and your children on an adventure through music: you'll explore the woods, star gaze on a cowboy’s range, dig for clams in San Francisco Bay, yodel with an ostrich on a mountain and visit 22 other traditional-now-hip places. Let’s Go! compiles 26 travel, camp & car songs, providing more than an hour of entertainment (perfect for road trips.)

Albuquerque - The Magazine

Introducing Susie Tallman and Rock Me Baby Records
March 2009

Susie Tallman was living the rock star dream in Los Angeles, helping well-known musicians tweak their albums to perfection. She stepped into her own rock star shoes with Rock Me Baby Records. Read more... (PDF)

Inside Out - Mom Reviews Plus Attitude

November 2008

for A Child’s Christmas * Holiday Songs & Carols

What Child Is This? Sing It With Me
Looking around for a holiday album that's packed with enough variety to keep the spirit going even when your child's dumped the cookie sprinkles across the kitchen and the cat's knocked over the tree?

Susie Tallman's latest CD is a Christmas classic already, a disc of 30 tracks from your standard Santa Claus is Coming to Town sung in Tallman's crystal clear and friendly voice to an Aussie twist on Christmas courtesy of Tallman's rendition of the Willy the Wombat holiday story. With jokes and sweet children's voices wishing you happy holidays in different languages, Tallman's A Child's Christmas brings out the kid in all of us to celebrate with the holiday spirit we really never lost.

And for those kids who like singing along (I was always one of those who wanted to read along, word for word, tone deaf and loud as anything), the liner notes share the full lyrics for a family sing-along . . . after the dog's licked up the sprinkles.

Available from RockMeBaby Records, Susie Tallman's A Child's Christmas will be the soundtrack of holidays for years to come.

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio - Platinum Award Winner 2009

November 2008

for A Child’s Christmas * Holiday Songs & Carols

We're big fans of Susie Tallman. She has an engaging voice and a wit that comes through in her music for children. A Child's Christmas is a wonderful collection of holiday standards including Deck the Halls, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and We Wish You a Merry Christmas...intermixed with Merry Christmas greetings in various languages. A great choice for the holidays- it will get everyone in the holiday spirit! Platform: CD. Age: Infant, Toddler, Preschool.

What's Hot For Tots - Review

November 2008

for A Child’s Christmas * Holiday Songs & Carols

I cherish the memories of my beloved Great Aunt Mazie, a woman with an irrepressible joie de vivre who optimized the spirit of cheerfully enjoying life. I often hearken to her sweet advice "Always have something to look forward to". When I say my morning prayers I work her manta into my day; each day becomes a miracle with something to look forward to.

I eagerly anticipated the release of Susie Tallman's newest CD, A Child's Christmas * Holiday Songs and Carols. I am entranced as I listen to this wonderful collection. I not only listen, I smile and I sing along, I laugh and tap my toes. This collection of 42 songs includes traditional carols and all my favorite tunes of the holiday season. Its playing time of 74 minutes simply flies by with music filled with humor, nostalgia and harmony designed to inspire children of all ages.

Susie's songs are always delightfully arranged; this special collection is fantastic. Her vocals, shared with musicians from the New Mexico Christmas Choristers and the New Mexico Children's Choir are marvelous. As always her talented instrumentalists and upbeat arrangements are fabulous. Infectious laughter and delightful voices from the three Steadman children declare "Merry Christmas" in countless languages. They also tell the cutest, corniest jokes that really tickle my spirit. It feels as if I am at the merriest of Christmas parties!

A Child's Christmas * Holiday Songs and Carols is a must have. It has all the ingredients of fresh baked cookies and hot cocoa, eggnog and good cheer, celestial choirs and sparkling snowflakes, family gatherings and loving friends, angels and snowmen. The spirit of Susie Tallman and friends warms my heart as rejoices in my soul. This wonderful production is exactly what my Aunt Mazie meant when she reminded me of always having something wonderful to look forward to.

- AJ

iParenting "Media Award 2008"

for A Child’s Christmas * Holiday Songs & Carols

The Children's music CD features Susie Tallman and contains over one hour of favorite and fun holiday songs, beautifully arranged, more traditional carols, stories, jokes and more. This CD will rock, jingle and jangle its way into your traditions and make any family’s merriment more musical.

CNET - SweetPea3 - February 2008

The SweetPea3 is a niche MP3 player that's an excellent choice for parents who want to provide their toddlers with digital music.

The SweetPea3 comes preloaded with two playlists, and you may add a third with MP3 and WMA tracks of your choosing. Playlist number one includes 11 children-friendly tunes (courtesy of Susie Tallman & Friends), such as "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," while playlist number 2 includes a story called The Little Red Hen. Our test subjects, a four year-old boy and not-quite-two-year-old girl, definitely enjoyed these inclusions. The older child preferred listening through headphones, while the girl liked to carry around the SweetPea3 by the handle and listen through the speakers. The SweetPea3 is fun for the young.

Los Angeles Family Magazine - December 2007

For Let's Go! Travel, Camp and Car Songs
Recommended in Holiday Gift Guide "Let's Go! takes you and your children on an adventure through music by compiling 26 Travel, Camp & Car Songs.

For Sleepy Dreams
Winner of Parents' Choice Gold Award, Lullaby Themes is designed to lull even the fussiest baby into a peaceful sleep.

For Children's Songs
Children's Songs contains 38 favorites with a running time of 72 minutes. From playful to educational--this music is pure magic!

Mommies With Style - Summer Shopping Guide 2007

for Let's Go! Travel, Camp and Car Songs

Songs that make you want to hit the road singing!

Are you headed out of town this holiday week or later this summer? Do you wax nostalgic about all those roadtrips of your youth when you belted out songs from the back of the station wagon, windows open to catch a breeze as you cruised on down the highway to the lake/camp/cabin/beach house?

Now you can recapture some of that summer spirit with the CD Compilation "Let's Go - Travel, Camp and Car Songs" by Susie Tallman and Friends from Rock Me Baby Records.

This collection is jam packed with all the classic kid songs - from Oh Susanna and On Top of Spaghetti, to Goin' on a Bearhunt and even Blowin' in the Wind. The arrangements are catchy and kitschy without being cloying or cutesy, which is a good thing. Because when my husband and I are doing our best impression of a couple of opera virtuosos performing Where oh Where has my Little Dog Gone, there is no extra room for cutesy in the car.

Leave the DVDs in the trunk when you travel this summer and pop this CD into the car CD player instead. You'll be surprised and your kids will be impressed by how you still know all the words to every song.

Louise Loomis (Director New Mexico Symphony Children’s Chorus) - 2007

"Susie records music of quality for young children. It is her mission to provide music that is an alternative to the plethora of that genre offered commercially that is childish instead of child-like, sarcastic instead of sincere, a kind of music that fails to honor children and childhood. She is dedicated to excellence as she chooses materials that reflect traditional, heritage, and Classical forms, all performed artistically and in a beautifully natural style. In today's society, parents have often forgotten or lost the ability to share songs with their children. Here, they have a wonderful model and a way to give their children a repertoire and vocabulary to accompany their journey through their very important formative years."

Williamsport Sun-Gazette - September 2006

Sunday, September 3, 2006
Lifestyle Section
Parents Take Time to Teach

These CDs are intended to inspire creativity in children and also provide a soothing sound while educating.

Tallman began her children’s record label, Rock Me Baby Records, a few years ago, after working in the recording business for many years. As a classically trained singer, she said she wanted to add to the collection of children’s music by providing a CD of classical music for parents who want to expose their children to a wide variety of music.

Tallman’s CDs feature languages like German, French, Italian, Latin, Czech and Limburg and several instruments, as well. Her list of albums include Lullaby Themes for Sleepy Dreams, Lullabies for Sleepy Eyes, Classic Nursery Rhymes, Children’s Songs, A Collection of Childhood Favorites and Classical Baby.

Tallman’s CDs are excellent. Her voice ranges from playful and inspiring on “Children’s Songs” and “Classic Nursery Rhymes” and soothing and relaxing on her most recent CD, “Classical Baby.”

I am excited to watch my daughter pick up on the many languages Tallman touches on the records. “Classical” is so soothing that on one very frustrating car ride with a very fussy little girl, we popped the CD in and she was out like a light in seconds.

Albuquerque Arts Magazine - May 2006

Classical Baby another hit by Rock Me Baby Records
By Larry Greenly

In the December 2004 issue of abqARTS, I reviewed four award-winning music Cds by Susie Tallman, which were designed to expand children's reading skills and teach them how to memorize poems and songs.

Well, Tallman has done it again with her latest effort, Classical Baby. Designed to calm and soothe children while introducing them to classical music and furthering their educational development, her newest effort has 19 tracks (63 minutes) of vocal and instrumental melodies from composers such as Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Brahms.

Unlike other Cds for children, Classical Baby has rich layers of the sound with the human voice accompanied by string quartets, piano, cello or organ. Tallman is a classically trained singer from UCLA, the New England Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Joining her on this CD is Kathleen Clawson from the NMSO and Santa Fe Opera, who has performed as a soloist at Carnegie Hall.

Because Classical Baby's performance quality is so high, it's pleasurable to listen to-even for adults-meaning you won't go nuts when your children play it over and over again. In fact, this reviewer has listened to it repeatedly without any difficulty.

ParentLife - May 2006

Classical Baby

This CD features classical music from Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, and Brahms to calm, soothe, educate, and entertain your baby. Classical Baby is unique in that it features instrumentation and vocals with songs in German, French, Italian, Latin, Czech, Dutch and English.

Los Angeles Family - March 2006

Classical Baby from Rock Me Baby Records introduces beautiful, soothing melodies to both parent & child, by some of the most important classical composers including, Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Debussy, Dvorak and Brahms.