“Twinkle, Little Star” The Song, The List

Posted by: Sing Books with Emily on: September 14, 2010

In: Heartfelt Musings | Lyrics | Poetry | Sing Along Tracks | Sing Books with Emily Sing-Along Materials | Singable Book Title | Singable Picture Book Video | Singable Poem | Singable Poetry | Song History | Vocal Tracks
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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Poem by Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
(This gorgeously illustrated book gets a gold star for using the mostly unacknowledged FULL text of the poem)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little star
How I wonder what you are.

The poem and song are thoroughly enchanting and it’s no wonder we see and hear them everywhere.

“Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” is a poem by Jane Taylor, written in 1806. It is also attributed to be co-authored, though not as frequently as the authorship is given exclusively to Jane, by Jane’s sister Anne.

A link to the Poetry Foundation’s online publication of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=171955
(In this printing, authorship is attributed to Jane Taylor)

A link to the Poetry Foundation’s online publication of “The Star”:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poem.html?id=174583
(Though the poem is exactly the same as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” authorship of this printing is attributed to Anne Taylor…it’s confusing!)

A link to the Poetry Foundation’s bio of Jane Taylor:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81234

A link to the Poetry Foundation’s bio of Anne Taylor:
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/archive/poet.html?id=81471

An informative wiki article (be sure to check your facts, though!) with interesting information on the song’s origins, links to audio files, and printed music,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkle_Twinkle_Little_Star

The Star
(Also known as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”)
Traditional Tune
Poem by Jane Taylor
(Source of these lyrics: The Golden Book of Poetry (1947), the exact wording of the poem varies slightly depending on the source and it is published in many compilations of children’s poetry and song.)

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are!
Up above the world so high,
Like a diamond in the sky.

When the blazing sun is gone,
When he nothing shines upon,
Then you show your little light,
Twinkle, twinkle, all the night.

Then the traveler in the dark
Thanks you for your tiny spark,
How could he see where to go,
If you did not twinkle so?

In the dark blue sky you keep,
Often through my curtains peep
For you never shut your eye,
Till the sun is in the sky.

As your bright and tiny spark
Lights the traveler in the dark,
Though I know not what you are,
Twinkle, twinkle, little star.

The tune itself is an old European air. I read in one place that it is originally German, in another that it is French.

The tune seems first to have been seen in print in 1770′s France, for singing a poem, “Vous dirai-je Maman.” A parody of it, using this tune, is still sung today by children in France.

Click this link to find an audio clip fo the song and more information about the tune: http://www.mamalisa.com/blog/the-origin-of-twinkle-twinkle-little-star/

Wherever the tune was first composed, it ranks with the many wonderful old compositions that we use to suit our needs and musical desires (like the wish to sing a particular poem), among them the tunes we know as Greensleeves and the one used to sing Yankee Doodle. Even a young Mozart famously wrote variations on this (ABC/Twinkle Star/Baa Blacksheep/Vous dirai-je Maman) tune in the 1780′s.

I run across this singable poem so often and have mentioned it in many posts, that ”Twinkle Little Star” deserves its own post, consolidating everything I’ve found.

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI-PFJsvqT0
Singable Picture Book Video from www.Speakaboos.com
Speakaboos YouTube Page:
http://www.youtube.com/user/speakaboos

“Twinkle Little Star” has been recited, sung, illustrated, printed, adapted and arranged in countless volumes.
Here are a few of the Singable Picture Books that print or adapt “Twinkle, Little Star” as a song or poem:

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Twinkle Little Star
Traditional Tune
From the Poem by Ann and Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Lesley Harker
To view or print this book, click here:
twinkle little star eleg sbwe

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All the World
Words by Liz Garton Scanlon
Illustrated by Marla Frazee
Sing to the tune of “Twinkle Little Star”

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Baby’s First Lullabies
Illustrated by Sophie Keen
(Lullabies are illustrated in the book with a CD that has vocal and instrumental tracks: Twinkle Twinkle, Sleep Baby Sleep, Rock-A-Bye-Baby, Golden Slumbers, Go To Sleep My Baby, Brahms Lullaby, All Through The Night, All The Pretty Horses)

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The Big Golden Book of Poetry
Words and Music by Various Artists
Edited by Jane Werner
Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott
Published by Golden Press, 1949
(Includes a printing and illustration for Jane Taylor’s poem “The Star.”)

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The Golden Book of Poetry (A Big Golden Book)
Words and Music by Various Artists
Edited by Jane Werner
Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott
Published by Golden Press, 1947
(Includes a printing and illustration for Jane Taylor’s poem “The Star.”)

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Childcraft, Volume 1, Poems of Early Childhood
Published by Field Enterprises Educational Corporation
Words and Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Various Artists
“The Star” is printed and illustrated on p. 135
(The pictures above show the binding and title page)

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A Children’s Treasury of Lullabies
Illustrated by Linda Bleck
This compilation includes:
“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” is printed and illustrated in this book

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Pepi Sings a New Song
Traditional Tune (Sing to the tune of “Twinkle Little Star”)
Word Adapted by Laura Ljungkvist
Book by Laura Ljungkvist
Illustrated by Laura Ljungkvist

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Read, Sing, Play ABC Sing-Along
New words by Teddy Slater
Illustrated by Liisa Chauncy Guida
Letter D
To the tune “Twinkle Little Star”
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/01/14/%e2%80%9cread-sing-play-abc-sing-along%e2%80%9d-a-singable-book-letters-b-c-and-d/
Letter V
To the tune of “Twinkle, Little Star”

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“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat“
Published in: Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Traditional tune, Same as “ABC Song” and “Baa Blacksheep”
Words by Lewis Carroll
Illustrated by Eric Copeland

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Music Map Series: Multicultural Song 1
Published by Koomzaal
Traditional Words and Tune

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Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (Classic Books with Holes)
Words Adapted from Poem by Jane Taylor
Traditional Tune
Illustrated by Anne Kubler

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Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Traditional Tune
Poem by Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Lesley Harker

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Traditional tune, Same as “ABC Song” and “Baa Black Sheep”
Words by Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Sylvia Long
(This book contains Jane Taylor’s complete text)

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Traditional Tune
Words by Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Trace Moroney

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
Words Adapted by Kate Toms
Illustrated by Kate Toms

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (A Bedtime Book of Lullabies)
Illustrated by Gail Yerrill

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Traditional Tune
Words Adapted by Rosemary Wells
Illustrated by Rosemary Wells

“Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”
Published in: Usborne First Picture Nursery Rhymes
Traditional tune, Same as “ABC Song” and “Baa Black Sheep”
Words by Jane Taylor
Illustrated by Jo Litchfield

The CD that comes with Usborne First Picture Nursery Rhymes has my favorite sing-along for the first verse of “Twinkle.” It is sweet and simple, but not sappy. The song is played slowly and simply with bell tones for each note in the melody. This treatment is given to each of the nursery rhymes in the book, making int one of my very favorites.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star (and other favorite bedtime rhymes)
Illustrated by Sanja Rescek

Twinkle, Twinkle, You’re My Star
Traditional Tune
Words Adapted by Sandra Magsamen
Illustrated by Sandra Magsamen

Joanie Bartles has made some wonderful CD’s for children, including “Lullaby Magic,”

Find the album available for download, here:
http://www.amazon.com/Lullaby-Magic/dp/B001N0TU2K/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1284038253&sr=8-1-fkmr0

“Lullaby Magic” includes her lovely, simple vocals and matching instrumental tracks for the songs so you can sing-along yourself. Many of these songs are have been illustrated into Singable Picture Boooks, including “Twinkle, Twinkle,” on which she sings the entire poem, not just the usual first verse.

Ms. Bartles’ vocals are on Track 7:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N0TU48/ref=dm_dp_trk7?ie=UTF8&qid=1284038253&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Instrumental for “Twinkle, Twinkle” is on Track 16:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N0P14G/ref=dm_dp_trk16?ie=UTF8&qid=1284038253&sr=8-1-fkmr0

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If you read carefully, you will find an irreverent take on this poem in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”
The Mad Hatter sings “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat.”

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea tray in the sky.

This illustration of the Mad Hatter singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat” is from illustrator John Tenniel.

Illustrations of this parody can be found in many versions of the “Alice in Wonderland” book.

It is also included in the Lewis Carrol edition of “Poetry for Young People,”

Poetry for Young People, Lewis Carroll
Edited by Edward Mendelson
Illustrated by Eric Copeland

A wiki article about “Twinkle Little Bat,”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twinkle,_Twinkle,_Little_Bat

Songs from Alice (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass)
Poems by Lewis Carroll
Illustrated by Charles Folkard
(This book, ISBN 0-7136-1959-7, includes Carroll’s poem texts and Folkard’s Illustrations)

Click here for a website sharing Folkard’s wonderful illustrations:
http://learning2share.blogspot.com/2008/02/charles-folkards-alice-in-wonderland.html

Songs from Alice (Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass)
Poems by Lewis Carroll
Music by Don Harper
Illustrated by Charles Folkard

(This book, ISBN 0-8234-0358-0, includes Carroll’s poem texts, printed music composed by Don Harper and Folkard’s Illustrations)

In the Disney animated version of “Alice,” “Twinkle Little Bat” is recited (not sung) by Dormouse,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=quupv3h64O8

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Twinkle Little Bat SBWE Sing-Along Poster Card
Traditional Words and Tune
Words Adapted by Lewis Carroll
Poster Card by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Click here to view or print the poster card:
TWINKLE LITTLE BAT SBWE sing along card