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The Cat's Pajamas, Philadelphia's top kid's music act, will perform at Somerville Family YMCA on Oct. 19, in a concert sponsored by the Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties.

The Cat's Pajamas grew out of the efforts of Janet Schreiner, who founded the group in 1995.

The origins of the Cat's Pajamas, however, are earlier, Schreiner explained.

"My background is in musical theater," Schreiner told The Jewish State, "It then morphed into a teaching career, where I taught theater and directed."

When she moved with her husband to Philadelphia in 1978, she spent most of her time raising her children, though she continued to act at night.

In 1987, she began teaching music to preschool classes in the area. In these classes, she taught early childhood music to children between the ages of 1 and 6. After someone witnessed her teaching a class one day, she was invited to perform at the Delaware Valley Association for Early Childhood Education. For this event, she invited her friend, Debbie Stahl, along to accompany her on guitar.

This performance gave them the idea of developing a children's music group. In the summer of 1990, Schreiner and Stahl sat down and developed a repertoire and for the next few years toured together or independently.

However, it wasn't until five years later that they realized they needed a catchier name -- and The Cat's Pajamas was born.

The name The Cat's Pajamas derives from a term used in the 1920s for women who wore men's pajamas instead of Victorian nightgowns. Simply, it means "edgy."

"We cut our first CD in 1999," Schreiner said, "and from there the band really took off."

A Cat's Pajamas performance includes the group's original compositions and integrates the music with its visual storytelling.

"Kids love it because it's very engaging on many different levels intentionally, both musically and visually," Schreiner said.

In addition to the songs, the group uses puppets to help tell the stories behind the music.

"We use puppets who are characters in the song. It's another level that we use to help to tell the story," she said. In addition to puppets, the group also uses dance, props, and costumes to develop the stories.

In addition to Schreiner and Stahl, the group also features Christine Havrill, on electric and acoustic guitars and vocals, who was named one of the top 10 Indie Artists by Advocate Magazine; Duane Large, on drums and guitar, is on the faculty of Temple University; Dan Kleiman on keyboards, who has performed or recorded with Ernie Watts, James Brown, The Fifth Dimension, and many others and co-leads the world jazz group "Siora"; and Justin Leigh on drums.

According to Schreiner, it is not only kids that appreciate the shows, but their parents as well.

"I've always wanted to make great music -- not just kids' music," said Schreiner. "Parents love our music. And the hardest group to crack, which is fathers, come up to me after shows and tell me how much they loved the music."

Schreiner credits the caliber of the musicians with the popularity of the group, all of whom also perform elsewhere in non-children's groups.

"I'm constantly awed by the caliber of the people who are my cohort in the band," Schreiner said.

The Cat's Pajamas has become a fulltime job for Schreiner, which she said has been tremendously fulfilling.

"It's a very gratifying way to make a living," she said. "I have parents tell us they have come to see us for years and years and years as their children get older and they have new kids."

The Cat's Pajama's will perform on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2 p.m. at the Somerville Family YMCA, 2 Green St., Somerville. Tickets are $10 for kids and adults. To purchase tickets contact JFS at (908) 725-7799 or through email at jfsofshw@verizon.net.