Thankful for: Optimists, Hot Sauce and Kids’ Story Ideas

We love optimists!

Amid the negative headlines and alarming trends in our culture right now, it can be difficult to find ways to enjoy everyday life. Dog on Fleas provides a set of 12 new original songs that serve up an antidote to negativity and stress, thereby redirecting weary brains toward more positive pathways. I’m an Optimist is the latest foray into funk and fun. Dean Jones leads this Hudson Valley based trio. He is is also known for producing several award-winning albums for the stars of the family music scene including The Lucky Band, Elizabeth Mitchell, Gustafer Yellowgold, Frances England, and Red Yarn. These albums have received 7 Grammy nominations, and one Grammy win (the Okee Dokee Brothers’ Can You Canoe?) over the past decade. Catch the news and album links at dogonfleas.com.

Koo Koo Kanga Roo continues to travel around the country, spreading silly joy with their dance-pop tunes and moves. Bryan and Neil will get a little spicy with their new song/video “Hot Sauce” and two shows in the Twin Cities over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend (Nov 29 and 30). Next, they’ll be playing shows around Texas in early December, and after the new year, they will head west for all-ages shows all around Arizona, Colorado and California. Get the latest news at kookookangaroo.com.

And as the days get shorter and colder, parents everywhere are trying to find smart ways to keep their kids busy and brainy. Enter Story Pirates, whose podcast is fully into its third hilarious season. And soon, Story Pirates will launch a subscription service for kids who love to create stories, complete with a magazine and lots of juicy writing tools and prizes. Stay tuned for the news at storypirates.com, and go to storypirates.org for news about the Story Pirates Changemakers fund-raising events in LA and NYC next spring.

Hours of delicious audio content is also streaming every day at Pinna.fm. Songs by lots of Sugar Mountain PR clients are featured on Pinna — including the Alphabet Rockers, Brady Rymer, Tim Kubart and Frances England. This on-demand audio streaming service that reimagines kids’ entertainment. Each podcast, audiobook and music compilation on Pinna is expertly developed and carefully curated for kids 3-12. From science and fantasy to interactive game shows and mysteries, Pinna has hundreds of hours of programming to pique the interest of every kid.  It’s easy to get a 30-day trial subscription to test it out at Pinna.FM.

Families raising Jewish kids will love PJ Library, a service of the Harold Grinspoon Foundations that provides free books for kids ages 6 months to 8 years. PJ Library recently launched the “Have I Got a Story for You!“ podcast, with new stories posting every week this fall. PJ Library’s children’s book experts also offer lots of recommended books, activity ideas and recipes for Hanukkah.