Playhouse Radio: Tunes That Target Tots

Here's a one-stop shop for children's tunes: PlayhouseRadio.com has a library of more than 500 songs from which pre-school teachers and parents can choose. The Web site is unique because its Windows ME CDs are custom-made and customers can screen lyrics with a simple radio station interface that allows them to play, stop, skip, or repeat any song. The company then burns the selected tunes to a CD for about $10.

"I thought about educators trying to work on a theme, knowing it would be great if they could get a whole CD of appropriate songs," says founder Ingrid Harding, a mother and teacher who was frustrated by the limited selection of recorded children's music.

PlayhouseRadio.com offers 12 music categories, ranging from "sleepy time" to "educational" to "dance," and there are songs to help kids learn to tell time and find out about other cultures.

So far, customers are pleased with the results. "I have created two CDs and received them in a very timely manner," says Norma McKellar, a children's librarian at the Moultrie-Colquitt County (GA) Library. "The quality of the CDs has been great."