Songs, Stories to Treasure

Audio

**** JESSICA HARPER, “40 Winks,” Alacazam! Records. CD: $11.98. Cassette: $9.98. (800) 541-9904. Simply one of the most lyrically inventive, musically distinguished lullaby albums ever, thanks to Harper’s honey-smooth vocal stylings, gifted wordplay and maternal warmth.

**** TONY BENNETT, “The Playground,” Columbia/Sony Wonder, CD: $16.98. Cassette: $9.98. What a treat: The swinging signature stylings of this jazz great, his gift for making every song a story, superb musicians and upbeat and evocative songs that celebrate childhood.

*** TOM CHAPIN, “In My Hometown,” Sony Wonder. CD: $13.98. Cassette: $9.98. In this A-list children’s recording artist’s quirky town, dogs sing doo-wop, the baby-sitter is a hood with heart, the local diner is for the birds and quiet times are pure pleasure.

*** THE DREAM FACTORY, “Night-Night Lullabies,” Baby Music Boom Inc. CD: $15. Cassette: $10. (888) 470-1667. A child becomes the wind, bouncing on “trampoline clouds,” a ship sails “over the edge of another day.” A dreamland odyssey filled with tender and transporting songs.

*** RUTH HALPERN, “She Set Out to Seek Her Fortune,” Word for Word Storytelling. Cassette: $10. (510) 525-5987. Captivating, magical tales of “Adventurous Heroines,” told by a spellbinding storyteller.

Video

**** “FAIRY TALE, A TRUE STORY,” Paramount Home Video ($14.95). Two little girls photograph fairies, sparking controversy in England. Set against the backdrop of World War I, this unexpected, beautifully told story with magic in it is about loss and the redemption of hope and faith.

**** “KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE,” Buena Vista Home Entertainment ($19.99). Astonishing in its visual splendor and delightfully entertaining, this magical family film about a little witch-in-training, from Japan’s celebrated animator Hayao Miyazaki, is not to be missed.

*** “THE LION KING II: SIMBA’S PRIDE,” Walt Disney Home Video ($26.99). Suzanne Pleshette and Neve Campbell join Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Matthew Broderick and others reprising their roles in an admirably lavish sequel about Simba’s heroic daughter and evil Scar’s successor engaged in an epic struggle to bring peace to the Pridelands.

*** “THE BORROWERS,” PolyGram Video ($22.95). This adaptation of Mary Norton’s classic children’s book sparkles with John Goodman as a delicious villain and an ingeniously realized world from the viewpoint of the 4-inch-tall folk who live hidden among us.

*** “QUEST FOR CAMELOT,” Warner Bros. Family Entertainment ($22.95). Unexpected fun. A brave young woman and a young hermit rescue King Arthur’s sword, Excalibur, saving Camelot from an evil knight. With fluid, often beautiful animation, a deft, tuneful score and the voices of such notables as Gary Oldman, Cary Elwes and Jane Seymour, Eric Idle and Don Rickles.

*** “PAULIE,” DreamWorks Home Entertainment ($15.95). Funny, touching and heartfelt, this terrific family film is about a small parrot with a big heart and vocabulary to match searching for the little girl who once owned him.

*** “BRAMBLY HEDGE: AUTUMN/WINTER,” Hallmark Entertainment/Crayola ($9.98). Based on Jill Barlem books, these two enchanting stop-action animation tales about little mice in a woodsy town are like walking into a storybook.