This Papa’s Got a Brand New Style : Music: A rock ‘n’ roller brings entertainment to the preschool set.

When rock ‘n’ roller Craig Taubman performs for children, you almost see sparks fly. With his “Craig ‘n Co.” band, he delivers supercharged, kid-sized rock ‘n’ roll with such irresistible zeal that adults often find themselves as wiggly-toed as a 4-year-old.

Increasingly in demand, with upcoming concert appearances on the East Coast and a new album in the works, Taubman seems poised to make a splash on the children’s music scene.

But it was Taubman the dad, not Taubman the breezy rocker, who opened the door to his comfortable Sherman Oaks home one recent morning. Big-eyed, 4-month-old baby Abby was tucked under his arm; her 18-month-old brother, Noah, was asleep in the other room of a house decorated with toys, books and family photographs.

Sans baby, Taubman, 31, explained why his approach is different than that of superstar children’s performers such as Raffi and Sharon, Lois & Bram, whose roots are deep in the folk era of the ‘60s.

“I don’t make a conscious decision in what music I write,” he said. “Folk music wasn’t as stylistically prevalent when I grew up. Rock ‘n’ roll is the kind of music I enjoy, and I’ve found kids enjoy it too.

“In my concerts, I try to integrate the whole audience, including parents and grandparents who might not initially find my music to be their music,” he said.

“I want it to be a participatory, sharing experience. I want kids to say, ‘I never saw Grandma wiggle like that’ or ‘I never saw Dad dance like that.’

“I write people music,” Taubman added. “A children’s song is simply a song that speaks to children, to their values, to their hearts.”

For Taubman, Tennessee-born but brought up in Los Angeles, music was always a way of life. As children, he and his two sisters and one brother sang together at public events. “My parents would throw us in the car, and we’d go sing.”

In high school, he began writing and performing Jewish inspirational music, rock-style, and still tours and records albums for the national Jewish community.

His interest in children’s music was kindled by his wife, Louise, a nursery school director.

“I’d take my guitar to her school. I didn’t have a great repertoire of standard children’s songs, so I’d make them up.” He found that listening to preschoolers opened new creative doors.

“There’s such a level of honesty at work with kids. If you ask them, What are you feeling? they’ll tell you.” So, Taubman says he puts himself in a child’s shoes in approaching a song.

“When Noah cries, when Abby smiles, when something on television or in a book attracts them,” he said, “I wonder what it is they’re thinking.”

Sensitivity toward young feelings is apparent in Taubman’s songs, such as “Baby Don’t Cry,” “Mom’s Having a Baby” and “It’s Gonna Cost You a Smile,” a humorous reminder to parents that they ought to say “please” and “thank you,” too.

In 1987 Taubman performed, with his sister Caren, on the Disney Channel’s Kaleidoscope concert series. That led to a working relationship with Disney.

Disney Educational Productions producer Wen-D Kersten, an enthusiastic fan, says she was pleased to discover Taubman at a time when she needed a special artist for one of her projects.

So far, Taubman has written songs for Disney music videos and scored and written songs for the educational “Mickey’s Safety Club” film series.

Before she met Taubman, Kersten said, “The artists and songwriters I was hearing were pedantic and musically uninspired. When I found Craig, I was blown away. He’s an original, and he brings children up to a level rather than playing down to them.”

Craig Taubman will appear with his “Craig ‘n Co.” band on a double bill with Julie Weissman of “Kids in Motion” at Mulholland Junior High School, 17120 Vanowen St. in Sherman Oaks as a benefit for the Sherman Oaks Nursery School at 11 a.m. Saturday. Tickets, $6; (818) 990-0638.

Free concerts will be given at Pages Bookstore, 18399 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana , on Feb. 3 at 11 a.m., (818) 342-6657; at the Treehouse Club, 12217 Ventura Blvd., in Sherman Oaks, on Feb. 15 at 3:30 p.m. (818) 995-PLAY; and at Fallbrook Mall, 6633 Fallbrook in Woodland Hills on Feb. 21 at 10:30 a.m. (818) 340-5871.