Kids these days are growing up faster than ever. One minute they’re drooling in front of Teletubbies; the next they’re trying on thongs and arguing over which installment of Kill Bill was better.

The challenge for parents? Coming up with ways to keep their tastes innocent without boring them to tears. A new CD called A World of Happiness walks the line admirably. An impressive roster of truly cool pop figures — Debbie Harry, Perry Farrell, Gary Oldman, Isaac Hayes, Lou Rawls, T.V. uber couple Brad Whitford and Jane Kaczmarek, and others — contributes tunes and poems to the compilation, and the offerings are charmingly child-appropriate and message-driven: Rosanna Arquette teaches kids to see “The Possibilities,” Magic Johnson tells of “Little Me” (irony!), and Lisa Loeb encourages taking note of “The Details.” Even Samuel L. Jackson gets in on the fun with a number called “Knowa’ the Cat.”

Which, we think you’ll agree, is a far better introduction to the actor’s work than, say, a screening of Pulp Fiction.

Available online at amazon.com.