What "25 Favorite Hymns" lacks in creativity, it makes up for in depth. Scrape to the way back of your Sunday school memory banks, and even the most obscure-seeming song re-emerges here to yank you back to the days of too-tight maryjanes and starched-stiff collars. Flanking standbys like "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" and "Amazing Grace" -- a mini version, sandwiched into the "Gospel Medley" -- are spirituals with the power to stir even the most reluctant little pipes, "When We All Get to Heaven" and "Standing on the Promises" among them. But if kids" records were classified like books, "Hymns" would land, with a heavy thunk, in the textbook category. Each song is performed by a sweet-sounding but ultimately zestless children"s choir, and the computerized music comes off as an afterthought. Fine for group singalongs and first forays into church music, but as pure pleasure listening goes, it"s a tough sell. --Tammy La Gorce