FAMILY : Canine Goes Country in Delightful ‘Doggone’

Country music goes to the dogs in “Doggone Country,” a tail-waggin’ roundup of suchcanine-croonings as “They Gotta Quit Kickin’ My Dawg Around,” recorded in 1926 by Gid Tanner and the Skillet Lickers; Burl Ives’ “I Found My Best Friend in the Dog Pound”; T. Texas Tyler’s deliciously woeful tear-jerker from 1948, “Dad Gave My Dog Away”; and the Hoosier Hot Shots’ ‘60s parody of the Elvis smash, “Hound Dog.”

This delightful country-bluegrass collection comes with a bonus: informative and humorous album notes by musicologist Norm Cohen giving the history of each song. Partial profits benefit the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

* “Doggone Country . . . All-Time Favorite Country Songs About Dogs,” CMH Records, audiocassette: $8.98; CD: $11.98; shipping and handling: $3. (800) 373-8073.

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Treasures: Three other not-to-be-missed treasures from CMH Records for kids and country fans of all ages: the three-volume “Country for Kids” series, “I Like Folksongs,” “I Like Cowboy Songs” and “I Like Bluegrass,” featuring vintage recordings by the original artists at bargain prices. Audiocassette: $4.98 each. CD: $7.98 each.

On the visual side, V.I.E.W. Video’s “Kids’ Cultural Collection,” an uneven series of performances from around the world, includes a classic from the ‘50s, a beautiful, sometimes spooky rendering of stop-action animation, “Hansel and Gretel,” based upon Englebert Humperdinck’s 1893 opera. The puppet dialogue is obscured on occasion by the swell of the music, but the exquisite miniature forest sets and hand-crafted puppets are irresistible, from the goofy but lethal witch to the guardian angels who see Hansel and Gretel safely through the night.

* “Hansel and Gretel: An Opera Fantasy,” V.I.E.W. Video, $19.98, plus shipping and handling, (800) 843-9843.

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Roll Over, Beethoven: What do revered classical composer Ludwig van Beethoven and controversial pop mega star Michael Jackson have in common? That’s a head-scratcher, but Jackson’s much-ballyhooed new release “HIStory,” will have its title track introduced by an excerpt from “Beethoven Lives Upstairs,” the award-winning Classical Kids audio release for children about a young boy in the 19th Century and his observances when the great composer comes to stay.

Although a spokesperson for Children’s Group, the Ontario-based company that markets Classical Kids, couldn’t confirm just how much of the excerpt will be used, it begins: “Monday, March 26, 1827, the north wind blows and snow billows through the air . . . it’s a day that will go down in history . . . .”