Singer Akin brightens little hearts at Ela Area Public Library concert

Singer-songwriter Anne-Marie Akin played the guitar, sang while laying on the floor, and danced with a puppet as she performed original compositions and old favorites during an interactive concert at Ela Area Public Library in Lake Zurich.

"With children under 5, you have to keep it interactive. So much of the way they experience the world is through their hands," said the Chicago-based musician.

"Hopefully everyone will go home humming a song they haven't heard before. Maybe it will brighten up the rest of their day."

About 30 preschool children with their parents and caregivers danced to her whimsical original tune "Milkshake Song" and laughed and sang to "Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Wheels on the Bus."

While Akin sang her songs, small infants came up and wandered around her, watching with interest as she strummed the guitar.

Akin is an instructor at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago and, in 2011, she won a commission to create "Call and Response: Voices from the Old Town School," which was a combination of original songs and interviews based on the stories collected from the Old Town School community.