FAMILY : Robbo Makes It Party Time for Kids With ‘Space Aliens’

“The Blanket Kid” may not mean anything to you, but it does to anyone familiar with children’s entertainer Robb Zelonky. It’s the silly signature routine eagerly anticipated by fans who attend the locally based singer’s concerts at malls and toy stores. Zelonky, known professionally as Robbo, is building a following because of his good-natured original songs and musical stories based on the ups and downs of childhood.

Robbo’s latest album--”Space Aliens, It’s Party Time!”--doesn’t break new ground with a musical delivery that varies from comical Vegas lounge act-style and rock ‘n’ roll, to old-time jazz. But the result, complemented by several accomplished musicians, is pleasant and kid friendly.

Robbo explores emotions in “Sometimes Ya Gotta Have a Cry” and in an early rock-style ballad, “Don’t Wanna Share,” and confronts fears in the bluesy “Shot Blues” and the jazzy, cautionary “Strangers.”

In “Blow Your Nose,” a magic spell goes overboard, a tall tale gets taller in “Owie, Zowie Kablowie,” and in the rockin’ title song, space aliens accept a social invitation with unexpected results.

* “Space Aliens, It’s Party Time!,” Blanket Kid Productions, audiocassette, $10. (818) 758-1888.

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The Music Center’s “Children’s Performance Series,” which is tailored for young children, returns to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion’s Grand Hall on Saturday afternoons, beginning Jan. 7 with the Aman International Folk Ensemble. Other performances in the series include the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s String Family Players on Feb. 25, the Faustwork Mask Theater on March 11 and April 22, storyteller Angela Lloyd and Berger & Diskin (also known as the Chameleons), with magic and mime.

The 45-minute shows are followed by juice and cookies with the performers. Tickets are $75 for the series; a limited number of tickets are available for three shows at $60 and two shows at $50. Information: (213) 972-7567.

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Shape a bowl, create a cartoon superhero, paint a picture--in the “Community Bridge Saturday Art Workshop” series, children can attend art classes for free at the Watts Towers Arts Center. The series begins Jan. 7 with “Ceramics & More” for ages 5 and up, “Comic Art” for ages 9 and up and “Portraits” for ages 5 and older, and runs weekly through Jan. 28. For registration and information: (213) 485-1795, (213) 847-4646, (213) 847-3368 TDD.