Nature versus nurture, either way the woman can sing.

"I was exposed to a lot of different styles of music by my mom and dad - he's still a musician - and I really grew up with music always playing in the house," said local legend Kim Archer.

Archer has been singing professionally since she was just 13 and her smooth, soulful R&B vocals have entranced. Tacoma-ians for the last decade. She has already released two successful CDs of her own and has plans for another solo venture in 2014, so what would possibly motivate her to enter into the pedantic world of kids' music?

"I saw these books and thought they were so different ... I just became intrigued," she offered.

Archer is referring to the Magic Friendship Series of books, which were written and published in. Tacoma by Max 'N Me Studio. The books started out as stories told from the viewpoint of a 10-year-old autistic boy named Max and morphed into full-fledged books when. Tacoma resident McNall Mason decided to share her son's stories. There are currently three books in print and more are in production; all of the books are vibrant, expressive and contain valuable lessons for their young audience.

"We began to wonder what the soundtrack to these stories sound like .. and then we started putting together ideas (last March) and we wound up with 10 original songs," said Archer, who collaborated with her longtime partner in music, Ivan Pla.

So after months in the studio, Good Mojo Records announced in early December that the full length, all original CD, Music from Planet Cool was ready to drop.

"The goal was to create something that parents and kids could listen to together and sing along, enjoy and yet still get the good message in the books and the songs," Archer stated. "It needed to be creative and energetic enough that kids would want to listen to over and over again, while also sharing the message of the books that could maybe even spark conversations with parents."

Musically the songs are a far cry from most stereotypical children's songs; there's a mix of ballads, funk, rock and jazz, which Archer hopes will ‘satisfy their palate but also give them a taste of something different.'

"When something speaks to your heart, you have to do it," said Archer, who performed all of the CD's vocals. "That's how I felt about this. It was exciting to head to the studio every day. I hope this is just the beginning for this project and I hope it can help us give back to our community."

One of the next steps is finding charities with a focus on kids that she can partner with in order to sell CDs and literally pay it forward by offering the nonprofits 50 percent of the proceeds.

This past weekend, Archer and Pla held a CD release party in the Stadium District in. Tacoma and performed the new songs live for families.

Archer is currently looking to find other venues interested in hosting a release party, as well as other retail outlets interested in carrying the CD, which sells for $11.99. Presently the CD can be pre-ordered or downloaded at www.cdbaby.com. Orders placed by Dec. 15 will be received in time for Christmas.

You can also visit www.planetofcool.com to purchase the CD and see a list of all upcoming release parties and retail outlets where Music from Planet Cool is sold.