For Cheri Moon, music was already a career long before she became SNOOKNUK. As an accomplished Pop/Dance artist and songwriter, Cheri spent years writing music and working on commercial and radio campaigns in NYC. She has also written and licensed music for numerous national commercials and TV shows. But becoming a mother changed how she thought about music, ultimately leading her down a completely new path as a children’s music artist.
SNOOKNUK began as a term of endearment that Cheri used for her children when they were babies, a name that would eventually become her artist name. But she didn’t set out to build a children’s music career after becoming a parent. These songs emerged from the everyday moments of raising her family.
“I started writing children’s music right after giving birth to my first daughter,” Snooknuk explains.
Soon, ordinary family routines became musical moments in her home. As a songwriter, Cheri naturally began to create catchy, repetitive hooks to sing to her children in the morning and at bedtime, including her “Good Morning” song and “Time to Go to Sleep.” As her children grew, so did her song collection. There was “Rub a Dub” for bath time, “The Tantrum Song,” and eventually “You Made Potty” during the big transition of potty training. Before long, Snooknuk had written about 30 songs, and the whole family was singing them together.
What began as a mother’s creative way to get through the day started to reveal something bigger as Cheri realized these songs could help other children learn, too. Cheri decided to fully produce and professionally record the music, using her growing children’s repertoire to teach children basic hygiene and life lessons. Then, when her children started preschool, these songs found an audience beyond her own family.
“Their teachers discovered my songs and invited me to bring my music into the schools,” Snooknuk explains. Cheri’s music circles soon grew as she travelled to preschools and parks throughout LA, bringing her music to other children and families. With demand continuing to grow, her husband suggested creating a dedicated space where she could host classes and events. That idea became the SNOOKNUK Cafe, a Music & Arts Cafe that Cheri ran for six years. She was even working on her first franchise deal when the pandemic brought that chapter to an unexpected close.
But this didn’t end the music; it simply changed its direction. Today, Cheri is in “Full Snooknuk Artist mode,” continuing the work that began with the songs she created for her own children, and the name SNOOKNUK still carries the same meaning.
When Children’s Music Becomes a Family Experience
Though her songs grew out of her own children’s real childhood experiences, they soon became opportunities for connection, repetition, learning, and play for other children. That philosophy remains at the heart of Snooknuk Music today.
“Snooknuk Music is the ultimate music for kids and families to teach kids not only life lessons but also to create bonding moments between children and their families,” Cheri explains. “It makes those tough conversations easier to tackle while celebrating every tiny but important milestone.”
Snooknuk is also committed to helping children develop mindfulness and social awareness through music, creating content that can grow with children from early childhood through the teen years. For parents, that can make music a surprisingly practical part of everyday family life. A song can become part of a routine, help a child anticipate what comes next, or give them words for an experience they are still learning to understand.
For educators, music is a strong pathway into learning, and one that invites children to participate, move, repeat, and connect.
For families, it can also create something even more important: a shared experience. That idea of music as a bridge between children and the adults in their lives is one reason I find Snooknuk’s work so compelling.
Growing With Children
Cheri’s musical journey has continued to evolve as her children have grown, along with the music she creates for other children and their families. Her content is designed to grow with children from early childhood through the teen years, and her newest album takes the original Snooknuk philosophy into the tween years, expanding her idea of “Edutainment” while drawing from the music that inspired Cheri herself.
“A lot of the inspiration for my music has not changed. For this new album specifically, I wanted to continue a similar mission of Edutainment for kids, but elevate it for older kids into the tween years to enjoy.” Cheri explains.
To create this new musical world, Cheri returned to her roots in Memphis music culture. Her purpose was to reconnect with the sounds that inspired her as a child, bringing Soul, Doo Wop, Motown, Jazz and Gospel into the album.
“This new album is infused with lots of Soul, Doo Wop, Motown & a little bit of Jazz and Gospel. It also has the universal messaging of fighting for your dreams, being ready for opportunities, and ultimately believing that great things happen, “All in Good Time,” Cheri adds.
Children don’t stop needing music that connects, teaches and inspires when they leave the preschool years. As their world begins to change, friendships become more complicated, and confidence and identity take on new meaning. They start thinking about their dreams, their abilities and the possibilities ahead of them. And that allows children’s music to grow right alongside them.” Cheri adds.
A Grammy-Nominated Children’s Music Artist
Cheri’s work has taken her onto a much larger musical stage as part of the musical group 1 Tribe Collective, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Children’s Music Album. That recognition is an impressive part of her musical story, but as a parent and early learning music educator myself, what impacts me most about her music is where her children’s journey began: not in a recording studio or with a record label, but with a mother making up songs for her own children. Today, that same artist creates music that encourages children to dream, recognize opportunities, and believe good things can happen, and that connection between where Cheri began and where she is now gives All in Good Time an especially personal quality.
ALBUM REVIEW: ALL IN GOOD TIME
Cheri’s third children’s album continues the mission that has shaped SNOOKNUK from the beginning: creating music that entertains while giving children and families something meaningful to talk about, explore and experience together. All in Good Time also represents a clear evolution. Rather than staying within the musical sounds we traditionally associate with children’s music, Cheri draws from the music that shaped her own childhood, bringing Soul, Doo Wop, Motown, Jazz and Gospel into the album. The result is music that feels designed not only for children, but for the adults listening alongside them.
The lyrics are equally impressive. Cheri describes the album’s central messages as fighting for your dreams, being ready for opportunities, and ultimately believing that great things happen, “All in Good Time.’” Those are big ideas for children, and Cheri presents them through music rather than formal SEL lessons. That’s what I think makes this album particularly valuable from an early-learning perspective. The messages are there, but children can experience them through rhythm, movement, repetition, and simply enjoying the music.
Do Re Mi
Featuring Stax Music Academy, Kwamè & Pierce Freelon
“Do Re Mi” immediately introduces listeners to the broader musical world Cheri has created for All in Good Time. Featuring Stax Music Academy, Kwamè and Pierce Freelon, this song brings together multiple voices and musical influences. I love that sense of collaboration because it reflects something important about children’s music: children don’t have to experience music as something they listen to. They can participate in it, respond to it and find their own place within it. For young listeners, a song like this can open up opportunities to explore rhythm, melody, voice and musical expression while simply enjoying the experience.
Sun of Summer
“Sun of Summer,” featuring Divinity Roxx, brings another layer of musical energy to the album. One thing I appreciate about the album, All in Good Time, is that Cheri isn’t creating music that feels completely separate from what adults enjoy. Instead, she draws from genres with deep musical histories and brings those influences into a sound children can experience too. This fits beautifully with Cheri’s larger goal of bringing families together through music and bridging generations through different musical styles.
Jump Baby Jump
“Jump Baby Jump” is the song that immediately made me think about the relationship between music and movement in early childhood, since young children rarely experience music by simply sitting still and listening; they often respond with their whole bodies. This makes this kind of song particularly natural for younger listeners to connect to, as it invites children to participate rather than observe, and often this is where the most joyful learning happens.
The Bigger Message Behind All in Good Time
As I listened to the album, I kept coming back to the message behind its title. Children are constantly encouraged to move forward, which includes learning the next skill, reaching the next milestone, becoming more independent, and preparing for whatever comes next. But childhood doesn’t follow a perfectly timed schedule because children need room to explore. They also need time to practise and opportunities to make mistakes. Most importantly, they need adults who can remind them that they don’t have to have everything figured out right away. That is why the message of All in Good Time feels bigger than an album title. It is a message about growing, dreaming, and trusting the process. And it can resonate with children and the adults growing alongside them, just as Cheri’s children’s music has grown alongside her own children.
What’s Next for Snooknuk?
Cheri Moon’s journey with SNOOKNUK continues to grow beyond the music. As a self-described “Huge Visual person,” Cheri loves creating music videos and bringing her songs to life in different ways. Alongside her albums, she is currently creating more visual storytelling in the form of children’s books.
As her work reaches children from early childhood through the teen years, Cheri draws on her musical roots to create music that encourages life lessons, mindfulness, social awareness and meaningful connections between children and adults.
Bringing Cheri’s story full circle.
With a Grammy nomination behind her and her third children’s album, All in Good Time, released, Cheri continues to build on that journey as she shares one final thought with us.
“Though I write and create to inspire others, I’m also still encouraging the young girl in me to keep persevering!”
Maybe that is part of what makes SNOOKNUK’s story so meaningful. Her music isn’t only about teaching children to dream, but it also reminds us that the adults encouraging those dreams can keep pursuing their own.
Thank you, Snooknuk, for continuing to create and grow while still making music for the next generation.
Check out Snooknuk’s listing in our growing directory of children’s artists. We will add each artist that we review here – these are not paid listings but rather vetted recommendations by us!
