Toot! Toot! Hop on the Happy Train as the Zinghoppers take you on a musical adventure of fun and learning!

The Zinghoppers blend upbeat music, dynamic and playful lyrics, slapstick comedy and humor, along with important "edutainment" elements designed for the audience's age group, the Zinghoppers are high energy fun!

This upbeat show features a band of "animal friends": Penelope The Possum (lead singer, bass), Coconuts The Kangaroo (drums) and Olo The Donkey (guitar). They are accompanied by their friend Conductor Jack (ukulele) who drives the Happy Train and joins the band on stage.

Entertaining children in an inspiring world where imagination will take them on amazing adventures, the Zinghoppers encourage kids to explore the world around them through music, movement and laughter - and they won't even know they're learning!

Created by the husband and wife team of Jack and Kitty Norton, they are experienced educators with a background in Early Childhood Education from the University of Minnesota.

Each character was developed by early childhood education experts, and the show features a soundtrack recorded by top notch Nashville studio musicians. The show was created to specifically appeal to preschool and early elementary age children. The Zinghoppers focus on themes and situations that will resonate with this specific audience in mind.

The characters in the Zinghoppers are like any group of young friends learning to develop positive relationships with each other. The show also reflects the importance of family and friends to preschoolers. While the animals in the band aren't necessarily related, they act very much like siblings and they love and care for each other. Expressive movement is both vital to and loved by preschoolers whether it be through dancing or role-playing. The Zinghoppers include these elements. Also, children love to laugh at funny visual situations. Our characters reflect this: they too love to laugh and there is a significant amount of humor in the show.

Developed by innovative educators, and backed by decades of experience in the entertainment business, the Zinghoppers invite you on a journey of high energy learning and fun!

Husband and wife team of Jack and Kitty Norton created the Zinghoppers to the delight of preschool and elementary age children everywhere.

With a lifetime of experience in the entertainment business, they dreamed of exclusively devoting their time to providing quality, age-appropriate entertainment for children. With the Zinghoppers, they are now living that dream.

Kitty was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and spent much of her time growing up in Jamaica. In fact, her first public performance was at the tender age of two singing in a Jamaican church with her older sister. She made her first recording at ten and was hosting her own radio show for a local R&B station at age twelve. She has released gospel, pop, Spanish and R&B-influenced singles and albums.

Jack grew up in a musical family and was raised on the sounds of 1920s Dixieland jazz and bluegrass music. Jack’s first album of vaudeville folk music was released in 1996 and he has spent the last decade performing thousands of shows, writing songs and releasing albums.

In 1995, they met at the Arts High School (at age 15). Jack and Kitty are true "high school sweethearts" (they finally got married in 2005!). After high school, Kitty attended Minnesota Bible College and studied music and theology, Jack attended Winona State University and studied english and creative writing. Both are currently enrolled in the University of Minnesota’s Early Childhood Education program.

They develop the content and curriculum of the Zinghoppers show with a team of early childhood experts from the U of M and the Mayo Clinic. Jack and Kitty co-write the Zinghoppers original songs and Kitty acts as recording engineer and producer of the groups albums.

Jack is a published author and regular contributor to music education, childrens and parenting magazines. He is also a well-known public speaker and his delivered keynote addresses for early childhood teaching conferences as well as business seminars.

Their unique background in early childhood education and entertainment enables them to reach children and achieve their goal of "providing high quality, age-appropriate music for children and their families."