By Paul Freeman [2017 Feature Story]

We interviewed beloved children's musician Laurie Berkner in 2017. In October of 2019, she'll be releasing her 13th album, "Waiting For The Elevator." It will feature more of her appealing, original, interactive songs.

Berkner has said of her new album, "At the beginning of 2019, I chose a word to represent what I wanted to strive for this year. The word was 'growth.' In that spirit, I wrote the songs on 'Waiting For The Elevator' about various forms of growth that are part of a child's development, like exploring and learning about feelings, movement, letters, numbers, colors, months, games, and relationships. I hope these songs help elevate simple, everyday experiences to be more special and worthy of celebration, like ... waiting for the elevator!"

The Los Angeles Times proclaimed, "Laurie Berkner does what Fred Rogers did: respect, validate and reassure young children."

One of Laurie Berkner's earliest hits was "We Are The Dinosaurs." But 20 years after she started recording her sparkling original children's songs, the woman USA Today described as "the undisputed queen of kindie rock," displays no signs of becoming extinct any time soon.

In fact, with her joyful recent album, "Superhero," the brand new "Laurie Berkner: The Dance Remixes," a series of Simon and Schuster picture books and a new TV project, her career is livelier than ever. She has been delighting fans with her 2017 solo greatest hits tour.

Berkner doesn't always need a band. Her pretty voice, rhythmic guitar, cheery personality and catchy, clever songs are all that's required to captivate kids and their parents.

"There's a little bit of a warmer feeling to the whole thing this way," Berkner says. "And the level stays in a more intimate space all through the show."

Her set, drawing from her 12 albums, includes such favorites as "Bubbles," "Bicycle," and "Drive My Car." She makes every song an interactive experience.

Reached by phone at her Manhattan home, Berkner says, "Some have specific movements, some have call-and-response singing. If it's an a cappella song, they do hand-motions or clapping with me."

She requests that kids headed for the shows bring along a stuffed animal. That will help them participate in the song "Pig on Her Head."

Berkner writes songs with four and five-year-olds in mind. But her audiences range from babies through 10-year-olds, accompanied by parents or grandparents.

As for the effect she most wants to have on her audience, Berkner says, "I want them to associate music with having fun. Also I hope that the families will have memories from the show connected both to music and to how much they love each other as a family. I hope all of that is wrapped up together when they leave and that it lasts for a long time."

Berkner was born in France, where her father was working on his dissertation. She was raised in Southern California until age eight. Then the family moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where her dad was a history professor. Her mother a librarian, became involved in publishing.

A Julie Andrews fan, Berkner listened to show tunes growing up. She also enjoyed Hap Palmer, Pete Seeger and the "Peter, Paul and Mommy" album.

She became a preschool music teacher at various locations, including Rockefeller University's Child and Family Center. At night, Berkner played in indie rock bands, including an all-female cover band.

Berkner quickly realized that writing original children's songs would be a lot easier than sitting for hours in the library, hoping to find some that could work in the classroom.

She explains what makes a good children's song: "The images have to be relevant to kids. It has to be easy to quickly sing along with. It has to have a unifying simplicity, either in the rhythm or melody or theme, something that has a universal quality. And it's also important to involve feelings or movement."

Berkner eventually decided to give up the cover band. "I was up till four in the morning on the weekends, playing in this band. By the time I'd get to bed, it would be like 6 a.m. And then I'd have be somewhere at 9:30 or 10 to do a kid's birthday party. And I was exhausted.

"I realized, it's much more fun to do these parties, because they actually sing the songs that I wrote. And when I play these cover band gigs, drunk people scream at me to play 'Freebird,'" Berkner says, laughing.

Parents wanted to be able to play the songs at home, so one of the schools fronted Berkner the money to make 500 cassettes. That original printing of her first album, 1997's "Whaddaya Think of That?," sold out rapidly.

After 1998's "Buzz Buzz," with sales booming, Berkner set up her own record company, Two Tomatoes, operating out of her one-bedroom Manhattan apartment.

Her music was selling in retail stores. She was doing concerts. So in 1999, she gave up the teaching, set up an office and hired a staff.

"It was a big, terrifying leap into the dark," Berkner says with laugh. "It was fulfilling, when it became clear that I really would be able to make a living doing this."

Her videos became sensations on children's channels like Noggin and Nick Jr. She starred in the animated "Sing It, Laurie!" series on Sprout. Berkner's success reached new heights.

Her debut DVD, which went quadruple platinum, was the first indie children's music DVD to enter Billboard's Top Music Video chart at #1. Her top five music videos have garnered more than 32 million views on YouTube. Berkner has performed at such prestigious venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and the White House.

She and husband Brian, who was the original bass player in her kindie band and is now a clinical psychologist, have a teenaged daughter, Lucy.

Berkner and her band are working on a new live-action series for Sprout. "The biggest challenge is staying relevant as a musician, when every few years your audience grows up and moves on to something else."

Dance remixes are one solution. She tried one at the end of the "Superhero" album and it was so popular, she decided to do a full album of them.

"I've had so many kids who have grown up on my music, but might not still listen to the original recordings, 10-year-olds or 13-year-olds. But by remixing them in a way that they could play them at a bar mitzvah or a school dance, it could bring back those memories. And I feel like those are really important memories that connect you to your family and to feeling loved and to loving music."

Simon and Schuster is publishing a series of picture books based on Berkner's songs. The first was "We Are the Dinosaurs." The next one, "Pillowland," with gorgeous, imaginative illustrations by French artist Camille Garoche, will be released in November.

Berkner has other goals, including composing scores and creating a stage musical. But her career in children's music has proven to be deeply gratifying for Berkner.

She has heard from families who have told her that her music has helped them through everything from hospital visits to bickering siblings.

"I'm not just getting to be creative in my career, which was my personal desire, but with my creativity, I'm actually giving something positive to people. And that feels amazing," Berkner says.

For more on this artist and latest performance dates, visit www.laurieberkner.com