1. VEGGIE TALES

The enormously popular VeggieTales series of shows and movies about computer-animated garden vegetables that learn about Bible stories and Sunday-school lessons also spawned a series of albums, ranging from VeggieTales: Veggie Tunes to VeggieTales: On the Road with Bob & Larry. Part of a family media company called Big Idea, VeggieTales was the brainchild of Phil Vischer, who wanted to create family entertainment with a set of strong moral values. He began Big Idea and VeggieTales in 1993, working with friends and art-school grads until the first VeggieTales episode, Where's God When I'm S-Scared?, was completed just before Christmas that year. By 1995, 130,000 VeggieTales videos were sold; a year later, over 750,000 had been purchased. By 2001, more than 20 million copies of VeggieTales videos had been sold. The VeggieTales albums earned similar success. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

2. The Wiggles

in 1991, bandmembers Tony Field and Jeff Fatt decided to form a children's band that would prove far more successful than anything they had previously experienced. Calling themselves the Wiggles, Field and Fatt joined forces with Murray Cook (bass) and reg Page (vocals). All four were qualified preschool teachers and the Wiggles, with their distinctive colorful skivvies, quickly earned a reputation for writing well-crafted children's songs. Children immediately took to their storytelling, singing, and dancing, and such characters as Dorothy the Dinosaur, Henry the Octopus, Captain Feathersword, and Wags the Dog helped launch a range of Wiggles merchandise.

3. The Doodlebops

4. Caillou

Internationally beloved cartoon/literary character Caillou is born of the imagination of author Christine L'Heureux and artist Helene Desputeaux. Crafted by child development specialists for children between two and six, the Caillou books were first published in 1987.

Though introduced to French-speaking children as a storybook character, it was not long before Caillou (meaning "pebble" or "bald-headed" in French) made his television debut. Caillou could first be seen on Canada's Teletoon channel in 1998, available to stateside viewers on PBS two years later. A mix of short episodes, songs, and live-action puppet segments, the show easily held the attention of its toddler fan base. Additionally, a large musical repertoire was generated quickly. When collections of Caillou's songs were finally available on CD, they were instantly popular. The 2003 release of Caillou's Favorite Songs pleased countless English-speaking fans. As the program became popular worldwide, demand grew for the album to be released in other languages.

5. The Backyardigans

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The show is an animated musical-adventure series aimed at children between the ages of 2 and 10.[5] In each episode, the show's five friends—Uniqua, Pablo, Tyrone, Tasha, and Austin—rely on their vivid imaginations to transform their backyard into completely different worlds, in which they go through many sorts of stories and adventures. The time-frame of the show can range from a few hours to more than one full day, but in reality, the story always ends just in time for one of them to invite the others for a snack. The imaginary story then reverts to the backyard, and the characters all rush to the house of the person who offered the snack and enter it. After a second, one or more characters open the door, quote the catchphrase specific to the episode and then close the door, ending the show. The episodes focus on music and dancing as much as they do on the stories, with each one featuring a different music genre (such as big band, reggae, Spaghetti Western, polka, Motown, and disco) and four new songs, usually with at least one rearrangement of a well-known or traditional song.

6. The Muppets

Cute and quirky with songs to match, Jim Henson's Muppets have been responsible for over three decades of children's entertainment that isn't just for kids. Alongside Sesame Street, which was aimed at younger children and also created many iconic kids' TV characters, the Muppets who appeared on The Muppet Show and in the Muppets' films had a more sophisticated, wittier look and sense of humor. Artist/puppeteer Henson created a rough version of the most famous Muppet, Kermit the Frog, in 1955 for Sam and Friends, a Washington, D.C.-area children's show for which he was a puppet designer; by the time The Muppet Show began in 1976, the Muppets were a full cast of characters -- including Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo, Rowlf the Dog, and the Muppet band, Dr. Teeth & the Electric Mayhem -- and their mix of sophisticated puppetry and music was already in place. Along with Henson, the Muppets' main original puppeteers and voices included Frank Oz, Richard Hunt, and Dave Goelz.

In 1976, the soundtrack to their 1972 version of The Frog Prince became one of the Muppets' first albums. In 1978, a Muppet Show soundtrack arrived, featuring classic Muppets songs like "Mah Nah Mah Nah," "Bein' Green," and the show's theme; 1979's The Muppet Movie, 1981's The Great Muppet Caper, and 1984's The Muppets Take Manhattan also featured songs that rivaled the quality of any "real" musicals of the time, including the wonderful "Rainbow Connection." The soundtrack to 1988's The Ghost of Haffner Hall featured the Chieftains' Paddy Moloney and was the final Muppet production before Henson's death in 1990 from pneumonia. Henson's son Brian stepped in as Kermit's voice and the Muppets franchise continued with productions like 1992's The Muppet Christmas Carol, 1995's Kermit Unpigged, 1996's Muppet Treasure Island, and 2005's The Muppets' Wizard of Oz. The Muppet Babies' animated shows and movies also had soundtracks, including Muppet Babies: Rock It to the Stars. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi

7. Sesame Street

Since its premiere in 1969, the television series Sesame Street has remained on the cutting edge of educational children's entertainment, its trademark blend of beloved puppet characters, infectious songs and ingenious instructional methods profoundly influencing the learning curve of each new generation of viewers. Created by the Children's Television Workshop in conjunction with the legendary puppeteer and artist Jim Henson, Sesame Street's enduring popularity is due in large part to its menagerie of puppet stars, among them Big Bird, Bert & Ernie, Oscar the Grouch, Grover and Elmo; no less essential, however, are the program's songs, which include original classics like "Rubber Ducky," "I Love Trash" and "C Is for Cookie." Throughout its decades on the air, the show also welcomed countless musical guests, among them Ray Charles, Little Richard, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, Aerosmith, Los Lobos, Melissa Etheridge and Luciano Pavarotti; similarly, pop music has provided a new context for the program's messages, with take-offs of hits by superstars like Bruce Springsteen ("Born to Add"), Madonna ("Cereal Girl") and the Rolling Stones ("I Can't Get No Cooperation") all contributing to drive home important messages. Over the years, Sesame Street also generated numerous album and video collections, and its continuing impact on successive generations of popular entertainers is assured. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

8. Teletubbies

The biggest phenomenon to hit children's television since the advent of Barney, the Teletubbies were created by producers Anne Wood and Andy Davenport, and made their televised debut on the BBC on March 30, 1997. Featuring the characters Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po, the program was created in response to physical, social, and cognitive needs of infants and toddlers, although the show's surreal flavor, colorful imagery and hypnotic pacing also found favor among stoned twentysomethings as well. An immediate sensation in its native Britain, Teletubbies was also a ratings smash in the U.S. as well, although Tinky Winky became the center of a media controversy in 1999 when Christian leader Jerry Falwell suggested the character was secretly gay. No, really. Despite the flap, the Teletubbies marketing machine remained in overdrive, and in addition to the usual toys and apparel there were also several officially-licensed recordings, among them 1999's Say Eh-Oh and Nursery Rhymes and Other Fun Songs!. Bedtime and Playtime Stories was issued a year later. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

9. Barney

It has often been said that the ultimate purpose of rock and roll, in all of its many mutations, is to annoy one's parents; if that's true, then Barney may well be the ultimate rock & roller. Of course, as a doughy purple dinosaur aimed directly at the toddler market, Barney lacks considerable street credibility, but perhaps no musical entity in years has proven quite so irksome to parents, let alone anyone else with the ability to cut up their own food; young children love him unconditionally, and as a consequence he has risen to enormous popularity, with any number of records, books and videos bearing his image. Created by mother and former teacher Sheryl Leach, at its peak Barney's eponymously-titled program was the most watched preschool series on public television, garnering audiences of 13.5 million viewers weekly and appearing in 20 countries on six continents.

Acclaimed by educators for its educational value as well as an interactive format encouraging its very young audience to participate in various musical and dance segments, the series spawned a cottage industry of toys and other merchandise, including such LPs as 1995's Sleepytime Songs, 1996's Fabulous Funtime Tales and Sleepytime Slumber Stories, and 1997's Run Jump Skip & Sing. Perhaps Barney's best-known song was the much-parodied singalong "I Love You, You Love Me," which epitomized the show's simple, gentle approach. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

10. The Smurfs 
 

The song "La la la la la la la la la la la" (or "The Smurfs Theme" for short) became a national trademark worldwide in the 1980s when the Smurfs cartoon reached huge popularity. It was actually in 1958 when they debuted in a comic strip illustrated by a Belgian artist named Peyo. Peyo had just finished school and in his search for a job found two of interest: a dental assistant and an illustrator. He was turned away from the dental office interview because he was late. Belgium was packed with comic strip artists in the 1950s and Peyo found a position working for Le Journal de Spirony. Soon his human comic characters Yohan and Peewit became well-known in their medieval tales. When Peyo created the Smurfs as side characters in those stories, he discovered that they had even wider appeal. The little elf-like creatures with humanistic personalities were devised to be three apples high and live in a village constructed of mushroom houses. Entrance to outsiders was forbidden unless the Smurfs willingly brought them into their hidden magical village. Much of the world knew of the Smurfs but they did not enter America until the late '70s when children's albums like Smurfing Land, Father Abraham in Smurf Land, and Best of Friends (reminiscent of the Chipmunks) were marketed along with plastic figurines and the classic Hanna Barbera Saturday morning cartoon was developed.