• Rated 4 stars in Time Out Chicago Magazine • "Shining Like a Star" - 2012 Silver Parent's Choice award winner Review in School Library Journal, May 2012 Acoustic folk-pop artist Laura Doherty really does shine like a star on her second album for children. Her clear, easy-to-understand vocals are the highlight on each of the 13 songs. Her expert guitar skills are joined by instruments such as the banjo, mandolin, ukulele, and button accordion. The songs, most written by Doherty, are a nice combination of upbeat, lively tunes like “Rocket Ship,” where she is joined by delightful children’s voices, and more gentle offerings like “I’m a Tree.” The fantastic “Tap Dance,” featuring Reggio “The Hoofer,” will have children moving and trying to shuffle step and keep the beat. A must-have for children’s music collections.–Veronica De Fazio, Plainfield Public Library District, IL BIO Laura Doherty, Chicago’s pop sweetheart for kids, releases her long awaited second children’s album, “Shining Like A Star”, Laura’s musical adventures first took us into the world of big-city-living, as seen through a child’s eyes, with her debut Parent’s Choice award-winning CD “Kids in the City” in 2009. With an ear for a catchy melody, she takes us on a whole new adventure that explores the ways that children and families have fun together. Laura teamed up again with award-winning producer Rich Rankin of Mosaic Music, and much like “Kids in the City”, her signature, breezy folk-pop sound fills the record, with sweet harmonies and acoustic instruments. “Shining Like a Star” shines with Chicago talent, featuring nationally-known kids rocker Ralph Covert (of Ralph’s World) singing vocals on the title track, and tap dance sensation Reggio “the Hoofer” McLaughlin, collaborating on a tune as well. Songs like title track, “Shining Like a Star” celebrate the myriad of ways that children express themselves and celebrate their uniqueness in the world. Often painting a story in her music, Laura sings about the wonders of nature in songs like “I’m a Tree” and “Vegetable Party”. Together with fun dance tunes like “Hula Hoop”, and “Rocket Ship”, these songs are part of an uplifting and inspiring new album for children and parents to enjoy together! Before producing her own original children’s music, Laura co-produced Old Town School of Folk Music’s “Wiggleworms Love You,” CD (2005), and in the past 3 years has recorded educational songs for Disney English, a division of Walt Disney Company. Laura found her place in the acoustic-folk world early on, picking up the guitar at age 16. Originally from Westchester, NY, she came to Chicago after college and soon joined the teaching staff of the Old Town School of Folk Music, where folk legends like Roger McGuinn of the Byrds honed his guitar style. For over a decade, Laura was the Director of the Old Town School’s early-childhood Wiggleworms program. In 2009 she took a daring leap and decided to go full-time with kids’ music, showing an intense passion for creating sweet folk-inspired songs for children and families.