A girl’s wartime tale, and tunes for the tots

Death narrates the bittersweet tale of a girl growing up in Nazi Germany in “I Am the Messenger,” an extraordinary novel by Australian writer Markus Zusak that is now available in audio form.

Nine-year-old Liesel steals her first book while at the grave of her little brother, who has died on the train taking them to their foster family in a town outside Munich. She filches others from Nazi book-burnings and from the mayor’s wife. The stolen books connect Liesel to her kind, accordion-playing foster father, terrified neighbors in the local bomb shelter, a boy with lemon-yellow hair, the Jewish fistfighter hiding in her basement and, notably, to Death, distracted from his grim, war-swollen duties by the singular child he first meets while gently taking up the soul of her dead brother.

This release from Listening Library (11 CDs; 13 hours, 50 minutes; $51; www.listeninglibrary.com) for ages 12 and up -- and adults -- is read by British stage and screen veteran Allan Corduner, who misses none of the novel’s sorrow, joy, cruelty, mystery and humanity.

Other new releases:

“It’s a Bam Bam Diddly! Father Goose”

Festival Five Records. CD: $15. All ages. www.festivalfive .com

It’s hard to resist the bob, sway and bubbly bounce of this first solo family album by ex-Jamaican dance hall DJ Rankin’ Don, the irrepressible, gravelly voiced singer now known as Father Goose, regular sidekick to children’s music superstar Dan Zanes. The mix is Caribbean, reggae, dance hall, calypso, hip-hop and more, rendered with infectious warmth and humor by Father Goose and a host of other top-notch artists -- including Zanes and Sheryl Crow, who team up for George Hultgreen’s exuberant “Flying Machine.”

“The Story of My Feelings”

Orchard Books/Scholastic. Book and CD: $12.99. Ages: infant to 5. www.scholastic.com

Bestselling children’s music artist Laurie Berkner does what Fred Rogers did: respect, validate and reassure young children. Berkner does it with expressive vocals, a smooth folk-pop vibe and kid-savvy lyrics. Here, in a lovely, tender picture book illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church and based on a song from the Berkner album, “Victor Vito,” a little girl makes sense of her mad, sad, happy and peaceful feelings. A CD with the title song and a bouncy “Walk Along the River” accompanies the book.

“Outside the Lines: Poetry at Play”

Penguin Putnam publishers. $15.99. www.bradburg.com

“Outside the Lines Music: Songs About Playing!”

CD: $12.97. www.cdbaby.com

Author and songwriter Brad Burg, with creative help from illustrator Rebecca Gibbon, turns his evocative poetry into play for the ears and eyes in his book, “Outside the Lines,” where the words flutter and roll, soar, circle and bounce on the page in poems about softball, kites, fireflies, soccer, Hula-Hoops and other happy subjects.

Burg, whose lengthy history as a songwriter includes tunes for country singers and numerous off-Broadway shows, has also released an “Outside the Lines” CD, shaping his pictorial wordplay approach into innovative songs he sings with his family and others. In “Catch,” for instance, singers toss the melody back and forth; vocals convey the on-and-off wink of “Fireflies”; and in “Kites,” the tug of the wind is unmistakable.

“The Busy Bee Dogs Present The Three Little Pigs”

Busy Bee Dog Productions. DVD: $14.95. Ages 3 and up. www.busybeedogs.com

Real dogs -- a quartet of well-trained, tail-wagging, Frisbee-catching, rescued mutts -- act out the familiar fairy tale under the direction of Kazoo, a large bumble bee puppet. The dogs -- three in pink piggy costumes, one in a snappy tunic -- go through their paces to a new happy ending, then act out “Hickory, Dickory Dock” with the help of some colorful stop-motion animation. The bee puppet lacks visual appeal -- why the crossed eyes? -- but the dogs are irresistible. The fun includes a surprise find-the-bee game and canine-led exercises to get kids moving.

“ZakLand: The Shiny Surprise”

DVD: $24.99. Ages 2 to 6. www.zakmorgan.com

Zak Morgan, the Grammy-nominated children’s artist (“When Bullfrogs Croak”), brings his uplifting, kid-honoring songs to a bright world of computer animation, live puppetry and live action, introducing cohorts Marty the Bullfrog (a puppet), Uncle Hank (a pilot), the Can-Can Twins (peppy cheerleader types) and a bunch of cute-as-the-dickens real kids. Likable, although he overdoes the wide-eyed enthusiasm just a tad, Morgan takes an engaging, tossed-salad approach with a mix of shtick, puppet banter, a plane ride, animation, music videos and healthy “I Can Do It” messages about the power of imagination, thinking things through and not giving up.

--

lynne.heffley@latimes.com