Here at CMP, we love the thrill of bringing you something new and exciting– from gummi bear chandeliers to faux fur blackboards and the practical, super-cool stuff in between. And we really, really love it when one of our picks starts out small, then makes it to the big time.

Today’s example is Juno Baby. Way back in 2006 — right before my oldest kid’s due date, in fact — Kristen reported on
the watchability, elegant sophistication, and just all-around coolness
of Juno Baby, a series of DVDs created by husband and wife team Belinda
Takahashi and Adam Adelman to help get kids excited about music and inspiration.

Four years later, and Juno Baby is still totally cool, winning awards and, now ushering in a whole new line of kids’ DVDs,
CDs, toys, books, and t-shirts. In fact, they’ve taken over the entire
first floor of FAO Schwartz Fifth Avenue in New York City. Not bad for a
rogue mom-and-pop company.

If you’re tired of princesses and talking cars, check
out Juno Baby’s lineup. Classical music, puzzles, foreign languages, and
facing childhood fears are just some of the topics covered by bright,
lovable puppets. I especially love the color-drenched, almost
impressionistic CGI backgrounds.

Oh, and you can also buy CDs of original and classical music played
by actual orchestral musicians rather than evil computers determined to
translate Beethoven into glockenspiel.~Delilah

Buy Juno Baby products directly from their website or visit FAO Schwartz 5th Ave. And for fun, download their music learning adventure app FREE from iTunes for a limited time!