PLAISTOW - Child stars were made in Plaistow yesterday.

More than 50 toddlers performed as backup singers and dancers, as well as the audience, when professional children's musician Steve Blunt recorded his newest music video, "Reading Road Trip U.S.A.," yesterday afternoon at the public library.

Commissioned by the state, the video will be shown at libraries across New Hampshire during a summer reading program that kicks off June 23.

Judging by the reaction of the children in Plaistow, all captured on camera, it will be a hit.

Blunt, wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt, strummed, drummed and tooted so contagiously the children couldn't take their eyes off him.

All except for 16-month-old Nicholas Katsoulis, whose eyes were trained on the floor as he gamely tried to crawl closer to the entertainment, giggling as he went.

Nicholas was too young to sing along to "Hang On, Henry," but he let out a big "Yea!" and clapped his hands when he recognized the first notes of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star."

Blunt performed original songs from his first CD and another to be released this summer and some old favorites everyone could sing.

Blunt, of Nashua, also told stories and taught the children sign language to accompany his songs. For a song about peace and love in their souls, he had them hold their hands to their hearts, then let them sweep out like a flowing river.

One of his stories was about his little brother, Henry, the inspiration for "Hang On, Henry."

Blunt said he always bossed Henry around until one day he told him to go fly a kite. Henry did just that, only to have the kite lift him off his feet.

The children puffed out their cheeks to make gusts of wind to fly Henry away, then waved to him and watched him go, as Blunt sang for Henry to hold on tight.

Brian Coombes of Rocking Horse Studio, which did the filming for the video, said the story is true, as is the story about one of the instruments Blunt uses, the low brass horn.

As Blunt told the story, the horn once belonged to a girl named Hazel Richards, who was living in Nashua at the time of the great Crown Hill Fire. The 1930 blaze destroyed more than 400 buildings. As she fled her home, Hazel had time to save only one thing that belonged to her. She chose the horn.

Years later, she gave the horn to Blunt so he could use it to spread his music to children everywhere, Blunt said.

Yesterday, he played it on his version of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," to the delight of Nicholas Katsoulis and the other co-stars of Blunt's new video.