Books in the Music Classroom
contributed by Amanda Noullett, Generalist Representative
These days, you can ask AI for the latest and greatest books that contain songs and get a huge list. However, the books listed here are curated for you. These are my favourite books to sing to my students and with my students. Most importantly, my students loved them and requested them time and again. As one sentence in the music curriculum states, "If there is no enjoyment in the music program, all the other values will be lost."
These songs always start out with students simply listening. As time goes on, they join in on the chorus or repeating portions.
Puff, the Magic Dragon by Peter Yarrow and Lenny Lipton, Illustrated by Éric Puybaret
I have the kids join in on the chorus, and they love it. They also enjoy finding the "hidden faces" on each page in the flowers, rocks, and trees. I would sing this in a very melancholy tone, and I had tiny kindergarteners tear up and tell me it was the saddest song they had ever heard. Surprisingly, they loved this change from the happy, upbeat songs they are often exposed to.
This illustrator also created Over the Rainbow. If you have the vocal skills to sing it, that would be an amazing experience for your students.
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly by Pam Adams
What a ridiculous song! I always tell the kids this when we sing it, but they love it.
This is the best book for this song. There is a progressive cut-out in the centre of each page that gets bigger and bigger after each animal. I always slow down on the spider "that wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her," and everyone wiggles in their seat. Then we sing, "I don't know why she swallowed a fly," with everyone shrugging their shoulders.
I would hide the puppet after introducing it and bring it out later in the year once students knew the song very well.
Love You Forever by Robert Munsch
My music professor, the late Dr. Robert de Frece, taught me the song that goes with this book. He also composed an Orff arrangement to accompany it, which I would perform with students in the older grades. I will check to see if that is something I can share with you all.
It is not always easy to read and sing this book to students, as it is such an emotional story and song.
Mortimer by Robert Munsch is a great choice as well, but it can get a little loud as the story progresses and Mortimer gets louder each time. I would read it sparingly, for my eardrums' sake.
The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth
This is a fun book because students can sing the part of the Gingerbread Man. I like this version because it is set in the summertime and is not connected to Christmas, making it appropriate for diverse school communities. I also like to add a likely very bad Irish accent to make the story even more engaging.
Down by the Bay by Raffi
Although I love Baby Beluga, Down by the Bay is such a great song for teaching rhyming with younger students. They start singing along very quickly, and you can get them involved by having them create their own rhyming lines after "Did you ever see a..."
Later in the year, we would work as a class to write our own rhymes, illustrate pages, and create our own Down by the Bay book.
Shake Your Sillies Out by Raffi is awesome too, but not as a book. That one is definitely a stand-up-and-dance song!
On Top of Spaghetti Illustrated by Paul Brett Johnson
Okay, this book is actually not my favourite, as the storyline gets a bit long between choruses. However, it was my students' favourite. They would request it time and time again. I would also try to do a probably very bad Texan accent while reading it.
The Twelve Days of Springtime
Some students will recognize this as a Christmas tune. The illustrations are what students particularly love. On each page, they get to search for the boy who is picking his nose.
A Few More
The Lady with the Alligator Purse by Nadine Bernard Westcott
I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! by Karen Beaumont
Over in the Meadow by David A. Carter
