I just produced and published my very first video about our “Sing Me a Book” program, so I decided to share a little bit about the books that I used in the video.
I had the opportunity to work with a music education grad student, Sue Kujawski, who taught me two of the books that I used in the video.
The “Barn Dance” book incorporates rhythm and rhyme with fun pictures and concepts that spark imagination. “Old Black Fly” is another favorite. This alphabet book was written to go with the melody Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho” and the pictures are hilarious. The repetitive chorus “Shoo Fly, Shoo Fly, Shoo” encourages crossing midline as we wave our hands side-to-side to shoo the fly. I enjoy helping the kids discover who really killed the fly at the end of the book. I won’t give it away here, but I will tell you that the clue is in the colors on the page that says “SWAT!” The video has clips and pictures from both of these excellent books to give you an idea of how I present them.
The “Flower Garden” is the first clip on the video. This book has beautiful illustrations and the melody fits to “Frere Jacques”. I added a repetitive chorus and the simple signs fit right in. This is a great book to use in the spring. In my special education classes, I often let the kids choose which book to sing and the kids usually choose “My Monster Mama Loves Me So”. This is the last clip in the video and you can hear some of my kids singing along.
Whether you are singing books at library programs, family reading nights or using them in individual or group sessions, singing books is a great multi-sensory approach to language development.
What books do you sing? Please leave your comments below.