Children’s music might be educational, but it can be so much more than that. Paul Ballam-Cross discusses the composers who wrote various imaginative works specifically for children to play, and the perennial favourites that families enjoy listening to.

A performance of Britten’s Noye’s Fludde presented by Santa Fe Opera in 2013. Image: Wikimedia Commons

It’s easy to overlook the world of children’s music, to think of it as nothing more than one-dimensional little pieces designed to be just one step on from exercises and drills before young learners finally graduate to real music. But music for children can and should be just as complete as music for adults, just shorter and with less notes. After all, children are chock-full of feelings...