The first thing to say about this album is that it is a very typical Johnny Cash album in many ways, the only difference being that the songs are intended to appeal to children. However, no attempt was made to adapt the music in any way to encourage children to listen to it by (for example) recruiting a children's choir to provide vocal backing, even though Johnny Cash occasionally did that on his other recordings. For myself, I'm very happy to listen to this album, but I can understand why some people have a problem with the inclusion of Old Shep. This classic song with a sad ending, originally recorded by Red Foley but later covered by Elvis Presley, at first glance doesn't really seem to be a suitable choice for a children's album. I love this song and Johnny does full justice to it. Actually, most of the song is fairly upbeat as it is about the pleasure the dog gives to his owner. Perhaps that was why Johnny included the song on this album.Irrespective of whether Old Shep should be included, there is a lot to like about this album. Originally recorded between 1971 and 1973 and released in January 1975 with 11 tracks, the re-issue comes with four bonus tracks. The recording dates for those are not given, but they were probably recorded during the same period. Johnny Cash wrote many of the songs himself. Apart from Old Shep, the only familiar song is Grandfather's clock, which is one of the previously unreleased tracks. So you won't hear the same old songs that you'll find on other children's albums, except perhaps Grandfather's clock.There is a great song about a girl or young woman (Miss Tara) with a life to look forward to, but while it won't offend anybody, it has no obvious appeal to children. However, there are plenty of those including Nasty Dan, I got a boy and his name is John (with June Carter), Little magic glasses and Dinosaur song among them.There is one nonsense song here, Why is a fire engine red? It uses punnery at its worst, ending up by explaining that Russians are red, and that fire engines are always rushing, so that's why they're red. Well, I guess the children might enjoy that more than I do, but it is one of the bonus tracks. It's not difficult to see why it was omitted from the original album.A classic Johnny Cash album in many ways, I give it five stars because I love it, but if you're considering this for children and you're worried about the inclusion of Old Shep, knock a star or two off the rating.