Sing a Song with Your Child

I love music!  Other than reading, it is probably the thing I love the most.  So it's wonderful when music and books are blended together.  Here are some of my favorite picture books based on songs . . .

The Croaky Pokey by Ethan Long
Frogs sing and do their own version of the Hokey Pokey.

Farmyard Beat by Lindsey Craig
The sounds of the farm animals create a lively beat that keep Farmer Sue, the chicks, sheep, and other farm animals awake.

If You're Hoppy by April Pulley Sayre
In rhyming text reminiscent of the traditional song, "If you're happy and you know it," presents various animals that are hoppy, sloppy, growly, flappy, or slimy, scaly and mean.

Crankee Doddle by Tom Angleberger
A pony tries to convince his cranky owner to take a ride into town. Includes notes about the song, "Yankee Doodle."


More Books --
All Through the Night by John Hughes
Dance by the Light of the Moon by Joanne Ryder
Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah (A Letter from Camp) by Allan Sherman
Hey Diddle Diddle by Eve Bunting
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
I'm a Manatee by  John Lithgow
If You're A Monster and You Know It by Rebecca Emberley
Jazz by Walter Dean Myers
Jazzmatazz by Stephanie Calmenson
Mary Had a Little Lamb by Mary Ann Hoberman
The Middle Child Blues by Kristyn Crow
Naamah and the Ark at Night: A Lullaby by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka Dot Pants by Eric Litwin
One Grain of Sand: A Lullaby by Pete Seeger
Over at the Castle by Boni Ashburn
Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka
Rock & Roll Mole by Carolyn Crimi
Take My Out to the Ballgame by Maryann Kovalski
There Was a Cowpoke Who Swallowed an Ant by Helen Ketteman
This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star by Jane Cabrera
Who Bop? by Jonathan London
You're A Grand Old Flag by George Cohan
Zin! Zin! Zin! A Voilin by Lloyd Moss


Check out these books on display at the Arnold Branch through April 15, 2016.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor and Park share a bus seat on the ride to and from school.  They don't talk.  They don't look at each other.  They don't even acknowledge the other's prescence.

One day, Park notices that Eleanor is reading his comic books with him each day.  Then he sees the song titles written on her text books.

And they strike up a conversation.  Soon those conversations are the best part of each of their days.

The conversations grow until Eleanor and Park realize the feelings they have for each.  But can their star-crossed relationship survive?


This was a great look at life in the mid-1980s.  It's amazing to see how people lived without all the technology we take for granted.  It also a great love story that both girls and boys would enjoy reading.  I would recommend this book (or the audio version) to all teens.

Let Freedom Sing by Vanessa Newton

Music played a huge role in the Civil Rights movement of the 1950's and 1960's.  Songs motivated the activists during marches, meetings, and demonstrations.  They expressed the desire of freedom and equality for all.

Many of the protest songs were African-American spirituals.  The lyrics were changed to speak about the hardships of the day.

One of those songs was "This Little Light of Mine".  It became an anthem for the movement thanks to the efforts of civil rights activities.

This book adapts the words of the song "This Little Light of Mine" to explain the Civil Rights movement to children.  Interspersed with the familiar lyrics are new lyrics talking about segregation, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., the Little Rock Nine, and many more pivotal moments and people during the Civil Rights movement up through President Barack Obama.

This is a great book to introduce young children to the history, hope, and courage of the Civil Rights Movement.  Complex historical figures and events are explained with just a few simple lines for each.  The accompanying illustrations capture the events in pictures that the youngest children can understand.