This week was notable for many reasons, Mother’s Day and a visit from family among them. Two big things happened for me at Tuckahoe Elementary School, too. I got to share Sing Books for the first time in Miss Robin’s pre-school class (they are adorable in the class expertly run). And, perfectly suited for the end of the week, on Friday I performed my 200th Sing Books of school year since I started keeping track in October. I’d begun to write down the songs we sang in each class to make sure that I don’t repeat the same song too often in each class. The notebook also helps me make sure I keep the repertoire fresh and current for the seasons, events and curriculum. And, another part of the log is for recording the many requests kids put in. When a child is brave and engaged enough to request a song for the next visit, I like to honor that request!
We sang a whole bunch of fabulous songs and learned a lot in the process. I introduced “Beethoven’s Wig” and we talked about how Ludwig van Beethoven did not actually wear a wig and looked at a painting of Beethoven. We also talked about the lyric “His wig is even bigger than the wig of Bach,” looked at a portrait of Johann Sebastian Bach which shows that Bach DID wear a wig! What a great opportunity to sing a song to the tune of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and talk about classical composers to boot!
We sang books this week in the rooms of Miss Campbell (K), Miss Robin (Pre-K), Ms. Morgan (K), Ms. Mason (K), Ms. Allen (2), Ms. Howard (2), Mr. Mitchell (K), Ms. Shorter (K).
In each class, we sang a selection from the following list. The songs are listed below in no particular order:
*

Beethoven’s Wig
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Words by Richard Perlmutter
Illustrated by Maria Rosetti
***

Catalina Magdalena Hoopensteiner Wallendiner Hogan Logan Bogan Was Her Name
Traditional Words and Tune
Words Adapted by Tedd Arnold
Illustrated by Tedd Arnold
This book includes an afterward note from the author with some info about the song and fun ideas for singing it. The last pages also feature printed music.
*

A-You’re Adorable with ASL Alphabet
Words and Music by Buddy Kaye, Fred Wise and Sidney Lippman
Illustrated by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
This item is for classroom, home, or library use only.
*** ***

The Big Bell and the Little Bell
Words and Music by Martin Kalmanoff
Illustrated by Alastair Graham
(This book is packaged with a CD with two recordings of the song!)
*

The Circle Game
Words and Music by Joni Mitchell
Illustrated by Brian Deines
*** ***

Both Sides Now
Words and Music by Joni Mitchell
Illustrated by Alan Baker
ISBN 0-590-45668-7
*

I’m in Love with a Big Blue Frog
Words and Music by Leslie Braunstein
Performed by Peter Paul & Mary
Illustrated by Joshua S. Brunet
ISBN 978-1-936140-37-4
*

Inch by Inch (The Garden Song)
Words and Music by David Mallett
Illustrated by Ora Eitan
*

Horse Sang a Song, Song
Words by Eloise Pauline Gleichenhaus
Tune by Eloise’s Mom
Illustrated by Eloise Pauline Gleichenhaus
Sing along with Eloise’s Mom Emily, here:
https://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/horse-sang-a-song-song
To view or print this poem poster, click here:
HORSE SANG A SONG SONG EPG POSTER 2013
*

Late for School
Words and Music by Steve Martin
Illustrated by C.F. Payne
Published by Grand Central Publishing/Hachette Book Group, New York, 2010
ISBN 978-044-6-55702-3
*

Little Bunny Foo Foo (the Real Story)
Traditional Words and Tune
Story and Song Adapted by Cori Doerrfeld
Illustrated by Cori Doerrfeld
*

You’re a Grand Old Flag
Words and Music by George M. Cohan
Illustrated by Warren Kimble
*

There’s a Train Out for Dreamland
Music and Lyrics by Frederich H. Heider and Carl Kress
Illustrated by Jane Dyer and Brooke Dyer
ISBN 978-0-06-058022-3
*

Take Me Home, Country Roads
Words and Music by John Denver, Taffy Nivert and Bill Danoff
Words Adapted by Christopher Canyon
Illustrated by Christopher Canyon
ISBN 978-1584690726
*

Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Words by Jack Norworth
Music by Albert Von Tilzer
Illustrated by Amiko Hirao
Performed by Carly Simon
This edition gets a GOLD STAR for including the FULL song (both verses and chorus) and a fabulous recording of Carly Simon and her delightful arrangement she made for Ken Burn’s documentary Baseball.
*

The Teddy Bear’s Picnic
Words and Music by Jimmy Kennedy
Illustrated by Michael Hague
ISBN 978-0-8050-5349-4
(This is the large, trade paperback edition)
*

The Swing
Poem by Robert Lewis Stevenson
Traditional Tune
Illustrated by Julie Morstad
Originally Published in A Child’s Garden of Verses
ISBN 978-1897476482
**********************
Related Posts
*
BASEBALL SONGS
The Singable Picture Books of Baseball
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/08/30/the-singable-picture-books-of-baseball/
*
LITTLE SONGS, A NOTEBOOK OF SWEET LITTLE SONGS (MOSTLY SINGABLE POETRY) FOR TO SING WHEN YOUR BRAIN FEELS FUZZY
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/little-songs-a-notebook-of-sweet-little-songs-mostly-singable-poetry-for-to-sing-when-your-brain-feels-fuzzy/
*
POETRY SINGABLE POETRY IN COMPILATIONS
An list of singable poems from compilations of poetry for children
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/04/17/singable-poetry-a-list-of-poems-that-can-be-sung-from-illustrated-compilations-of-poetry-and-singable-picture-books/
*
POETRY, SINGABLE POETRY IN INDIVIDUALLY ILLUSTRATED SINGABLE PICTURE BOOKS
A list of individually illustrated poems that have been set to music and can be sung
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/04/20/poems-individually-illustrated-spb/
*
EDUCATIONAL CONTENT
A list of SPBs with fun and sneakily educational content. The kids won’t even know they’re learning!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/08/15/singable-picture-books-with-sneaky-educational-content/
*
PINTEREST
SING WITH ME SONGBOOK FOR SINGBOOKS WITH EMILY (ON PINTEREST)
http://pinterest.com/singbooksemily/sing-with-me-songbook-sing-books-with-emily/
*
PINTEREST
FAVORITE SINGABLES ON PINTEREST
Of the hundreds (maybe thousands) of choices, this list on Pinterest displays the top blockbuster favorite Singable Picture Books that we warble together at Sing Books visits:
http://pinterest.com/singbooksemily/
*
FOURTH OF JULY AND OTHER HOLIDAYS CELEBRATING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND HER CITIZENS AND HISTORY
A list of Patriotic Singable Picture Books
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/06/22/a-patriotic-list-of-singable-books-for-july-4th/