More rock stars of the tot set

Are your kids rockin' out to Recess Monkey? Join the crowd — in the past few months, the band has been featured on local television news and radio, a local parenting mag and NPR.

In fact, the whole kid-rock scene is popping. True, this isn't new. In my family, our favorite kids' album was the "slightly fabulous" Limeliters who, in 1961, gathered some preteens in Berkeley and recorded the classic "Through Children's Eyes." (And with a solid 5-star rating at Amazon.com, it's obviously still a favorite all these years later.)

Today, the following artists — some of them local — are making some popular noise in the kid-music world:

• With songs like "Get Me Some Glasses," Justin Roberts (www.justinroberts.org) remains a perennial favorite of both parents and children.

• "Here Come the 123s" is the latest CD release by alternative-rockers-turned-kid-mainstays They Might Be Giants. You've likely heard their song, "You're Not the Boss of Me," which is the theme song for TV's "Malcolm in the Middle" (www.tmbg.com).

• Seattle favorite Mudhoney lends a rocker note to a new compilation kids' CD titled "Play." Their contribution, in the best grunge tradition, is titled, "I Like to Make Noise and Break Things" (www.myspace.com/mudhoney).

• Seattle's Young Fresh Fellows add a poppy note with "Picnic" (www.myspace.com/theyoungfreshfellows).

• Captain Bogg and Salty are a pirate-themed rock band that sets sail from Portland. "Prelude to Mutiny" is their latest (www.boggandsalty.com).

• Some reviewers have likened Scribblemonster and his Pals to " 'Sesame Street' on steroids." But this Chicago group is popular with parents who don't mind a bit of an edge (www.scribblemonster.com).