European Playground, the newest release in Putumayo Kids’ acclaimed Playground series of CDs, is a collection of 15 songs that takes families on a fun-filled cross-genre musical tour around the continent. Europe is a favorite destination for travelers who marvel at the continent’s rich cultural variety. Europe is home to almost 50 countries, each with its own unique culture, history, traditions, food and music. European Playground features a lively and engaging selection of family-friendly music from contemporary artists from these very diverse regions. The multilingual songs are easy to sing and dance along to, no matter what language you speak. The song themes speak to children’s interests and spark their imaginations. The Swiss tune by Roland Zoss is about a magical land where teddy bears come to life. Sås & Kopp sing in Swedish about jumping on a trampoline with friends in the backyard, and German favorite Alex Schmeisser celebrates the friendship between a big cow and a little mouse. Alain Le Lait highlights the French love of good food while London-based Herbie Treehead explores a universal theme in a fresh new way with his “Change Song,” noting, “We all have to change sometimes!” As with all Putumayo Kids releases, European Playground showcases the ways in which musical styles become global phenomena. The universal appeal of Caribbean musical styles is evident in tunes from artists working in the Netherlands, Greece and Denmark. Similarly, the mutual influence that Scottish and Irish music and North American folk music share can be heard in songs by Scotland’s Ian Benzie and Ireland’s Sharon Shannon.