Sing Books with Emily, the Blog

Oh, for the LOVE of birds!  How magical they are flying, singing, and twittering about.

Birds are celebrated in many of the songs captured in Singable Picture Books and it’s high time these tuneful treasures flocked together!

The songs of the Singable Picture Books in this list are entirely about birds or at the very least mention a bird in the lyrics.  Some of the songs have multiple illustrations, but for the sake of relative brevity, I’ve included my favorite edition.  To view cover images of other illustrations or to get more info (song history, sing along tracks, illustrator info, etc) about the song and Singable Picture Book, just click on the titles in bluem, which are linked informational posts.

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A Fairy Went A-Marketing
Poem by Rose Fyleman
Illustrated by Jamichael Henterly
Musical Setting can be found by Ginger Sands on her collection “The Gift of Make Believe“

“A Fairy went a-marketing, she bought a little bird…”

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A-Is an Alligator
Poster Card by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Click here to view or print the poster card:
A-Is an Alligator lyrics poster card
Sing “A-Is an Alligator“ to the Tune of “A-You’re Adorable“
Words Adapted by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Sing this song along with,
Alphabeasties (and other Amazing Types),
Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles
(Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles)
By Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss

“…an Ibis made of I’s”

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Albuquerque Turkey [Hardcover]
Traditional Tune (Sing to the Tune of “Oh, My Darlin’ Clementine“)
Words Adapted by B. G. Ford
Illustrated by Lucinda McQueen

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All God’s Critters
Words and Music by Bill Staines
Illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 2009
ISBN 987-0-689-86959-4

“…some sing out loud of a telephone wire…”

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All Things Bright and Beautiful
Words by Cecil F. Alexander
Illustrated by Ashley Bryan
(This wonderful rendition of pictures from cut paper, includes a page of info about Mrs. Cecil Francis Alexander and printed music)
Click here for the Sing Books with Emily “All Things Bright and Beautiful” Refrain Poster Card:
all things bright and beautiful – refrain poster

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Alphabeasties (and other Amazing Types)
Words and Illustrations by Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss
Sing this to the tune of the ABC Song.

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Alphabeasties (and other Amazing Types),
Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles
(Alphabet Flash Cards and Floor Puzzles)
By Sharon Werner and Sarah Forss
Sing this to the tune of the ABC Song.
Or, sing this with, A-Is an Alligator
Poster Card by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
Click here to view or print the poster card:
A-Is an Alligator lyrics poster card
Sing “A-Is an Alligator“ to the Tune of “A-You’re Adorable“
Words Adapted by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus

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Arctic Antics
Words by Judy Sierra
Music by Robert Reynolds & Scotty Huff
Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
(“Arctic Antics” is featured in the Scholastic Video Collection)

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At the Zoo
Word and Music by Paul Simon
Illustrated by Valerie Michaut

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The Baby Chicks
Music Map Series: Multicultural Song 6
Published by Koomzaal
Traditional Words and Tune

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Burung Kakatua
Traditional Words and Tune
Music Map Series: Multicultural Song 8
Published by Koomzaal

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The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper’s Feast
Written and Illustrated by Alan Aldridge and William Plomer
Music by Various Artists

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Calico Pie (and Other Nonsense by Edward Lear)
Poems by Edward Lear
Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Dale Maxey

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Charley Harper ABC
Art by Charley Harper
Published by AMMO Books

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“Cottleston Pie,” in

Winnie-the-Pooh
Written by A. A. Milne
Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard

“…a fly can’t bird but a bird can fly…”

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Five Little Ducks
Traditional Tune
Traditional words
Illustrated by Ariane Dewey

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Five Little Ducks (Classic Books with Holes)
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Penny Ives
(This book comes in a bunch of editions…some are smaller format paperbacks packaged with a 2-track vocal and sing-along CD, some come in HUGE format boardbook, or large format paper back.  Whichever format you choose, this one is cute and fun to sing with the little ones and the tune and lyrics have been adapted for other songs.  So once you learned this one, you’re on your way to knowing a host of others, too.)

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Five Little Penguins Slipping on the Ice
Traditional Words and Tune
Words Adapted by Steve Metzger
Illustrated by Laura Bryant

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Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night (An Old Song)
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Peter Spier
Published by Dell Dragonfly Books, New York, 1961
ISBN 0-440-40829-6

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Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
Traditional Words and Music
Illustrated by Wendy Watson

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Go Tell Aunt Rhody
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Aliki Brandenberg

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Grandma’s Feather Bed
Words and Music by John Denver
Adapted and Illustrated by Christopher Canyon

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Home on the Range
Words by Dr. Brewster Higley
Music by Dan Kelley
Illustrations by Brian Ajhar

The lyrics of this song mention a bird, the curlew…

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A House is a House for Me
Words by Mary Ann Hoberman
Music by Fred Penner
Illustrated by Betty Fraser
Preview Fred Penner’s musical setting and recording here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000US343W/ref=dm_dp_trk7?ie=UTF8&qid=1290454196&sr=1-1

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Hush, Little Baby
Traditional Rhyme and Tune
Illustrated by Marla Frazee

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Hush, Little Baby
Traditional Words and Tune (Sing to the tune of “Hush Little Baby”)
Words Adapted by Sylvia Long
Illustrated by Sylvia Long
(This adaptation has a wonderful “non-material” theme where the mother offers the gift of viewing  lovely things in nature)

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I Can Fly
Text by Ruth Krauss
Lyrics by Hilda Marx
Music by Alec Wilder
Illustrated by Mary Blair

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I Had a Rooster
Traditional Words and Tune
Forward by Pete Seeger
Illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
(You can hear Pete Seeger singing “I Had a Rooster” here: http://www.amazon.com/I-Had-a-Rooster/dp/B000S3AOQY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1275250296&sr=8-1)

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I Love You a Bushel and a Peck
Words and Music by Frank Loesser
Illustrated by Rosemary Wells

Chickens are mentioned in this song.  But often, the character that sings this song in the musical “Guys and Dolls” comes out dressed as a mother bird with her back up singers as chicks…

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The Littlest Birds Sing the Prettiest Songs (Folk Music)
Words and Music by Various Artists
Collected by Jennie Smith
Illustrated by Jennie Smith
ISBN 9780811875097

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Man Gave Names to All the Animals
Words and Music by Bob Dylan
Illustrated by Jim Arnosky

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Morning Has Broken
Traditional Hymn
Poem by Eleanor Farjeon
Illustrated by Tim Ladwig
Sing-along with Emily:
http://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/morning-has-broken-eleg-2010

“Blackbird has spoken like the first bird…”

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My Favorite Things
Words by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Illustrations by Renee Graef

“Wild Geese that fly with the moon on their wings…”

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Ogden Nash’s Musical Zoo
Poems by Ogden Nash
Music by Vernon Duke
Illustrated by Frank Owen

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Ogden Nash’s Zoo
Poems by Ogden Nash
Illustrated by Etienne Delessert
(See “Ogden Nash’s Musical Zoo” for tunes by Vernon Duke)

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One Wide River to Cross
Traditional Words and Tune
Adapted by Barbara Emberley
Illustrated by Ed Emberley

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Over in the Hollow
Traditional Words and Tune (Sing to the Tune of “Over in the Meadow”)
Words Adapted by Rebecca Dickinson
Illustrated by Stephan Britt

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Over in the Meadow (Barefoot Books)
Traditional Words and Tune
Words Adapted by Jill McDonald
Illustrated by Jill McDonald

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Over in the Meadow
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats

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Over in the Rainforest
Traditional Words and Tune
Sing to the Tune of “Over in the Meadow”
Words Adapted by Connie and Peter Roop
Illustrated by Carol Schwartz

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Over the Rainbow
Words and Music by Harold Arlen and E. Y. Harburg
Illustrated by Eric Puybaret
Published by Imagine Publishing Inc.
ISBN 978-1-936140-00-8

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The Owl and the Pussycat
Words by Edward Lear
Musical Settings by Various Artists
Illustrated by Jan Brett
(The poem has been set to music a few times. But, for a tune to sing along, I suggest the “Owl and the Pussycat,” vocal track by Lorraine Nelson Wolf on her album “Come Follow Me,” Track 16)
Sing “O&P” along with Emily: http://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/o-p-eleg-061909

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The Owl and the Pussycat
Words by Edward Lear
Musical Settings by Various Artists
Illustrated by James Marshall
(The poem has been set to music a few times. But, for a tune to sing along, I suggest the “Owl and the Pussycat,” vocal track by Lorraine Nelson Wolf on her album “Come Follow Me,” Track 16)
Sing “O&P” along with Emily: http://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/o-p-eleg-061909

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The Pelican Chorus (and Other Nonsense)
Poems by Edward Lear
Illustrated by Fred Marcellino

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Philadelphia Chickens
Words by Sandra Boynton
Music by Sandra Boynton and Michael Ford
Illustrated by Sandra Boynton

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Poetry for Young People: Edward Lear
Edited by Edward Mendelson
Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith
(Singable Poems include: “The Owl and the Pussycat” and “Calico Pie”)

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Poetry for Young People: The Seasons
Edited by John N. Serio
Illustrated by Robert Crockett
Singable poems include:
“Sumer is icumen in” an ancient round,
“maggie and milly and molly and may,” by ee cummings,
“The Wild Swans at Coole” by W.B. Yeats)

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The Rainforest Grew All Around
Traditional Tune (“Green Grass Grew All Around)
Text and Word Adaptations by Susan K. Mitchell
Illustrated by Connie McLennan
(This book includes, besides lyrics, panels of information about each plant or animal mentioned in the song.  It has won many a parent and educator’s choice awards.)

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Rhymes Round the World
Words and Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Kay Chorao

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The Rooster Crows (A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles)
Words and Music by Various Artists
Collected and Illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham

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“Rubber Duckie“ (Words and Music by Jeffrey Moss) from

The Songs of Sesame Street in Poems and Pictures
Words and Music by Various Artists
Illustrated by Normand Chartier
Published by Random House/Children’s Television Workshop, New York, 1983
ISBN 0-394-95245-6

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Song of the Swallows
Book Text by Leo Politi
Traditional Words and Tunes
Illustrated by Leo Politi

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The Sparrow
Words and Music by Jill Leger
Illustrated by Jill Leger
Sing-Along on Youtube with a karaoke video of “The Sparrow”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlxqa-eXTVw
Hear Emily’s recording of “The Sparrow” on: http://soundcloud.com/singbookswithemily/the-sparrow-eleg-by-jill-leger

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The Surrey with the Fringe on Top
Words by Oscar Hammerstein II
Music by Richard Rodgers
Illustrated by James Warhola
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, 1993
ISBN 0-671-79456-6

“Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry…”

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Sweet Suffolk Owl
Poem Attributed to an Anonymous Author
Music by Thomas Vautor (1619) (Thomas Vautor’s musical setting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbkTP7NJXME )
Music by Richard Hundley (1981) (Richard Hundley’s musical setting: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCOijXQEeqk)
Illustrations Assembled by Emily Leatha Everson Gleichenhaus
You can sing-along with this book I assembled, to view or print, click here:
sweet suffolk owl book for singing

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Tall Book of Christmas
Selected by Dorothy Hall Smith
Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott Espenscheid

This book contains many familiar Christmas songs, but also features some delightful obscurities.  One delight is a song called “The Birds, and Old Czech Carol.”  To hear a choral singing of this carol, but not the whole text found in the book, listen to track 16 on Hyperion Record’s album called “The English Hymn, Vol. 4.”  The track is called “The Birds ‘From Out of the Wood Did a Cukoo Fly.’”

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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Chick
Traditional Words and Tune
Words adapted by Lucille Colandro
Illustrated by Jared Lee

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Three Little Birds
Book by Cedella Marley and Gerald Hausman
Adapted from the Song by Bob Marley
Illustrated by Mariah Fox

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“Time to Rise“
Words by Robert Louis Stevenson
Music by Joanie Bartles (Album, “Morning Magic” (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001N0P2FY/ref=dm_sp_alb?ie=UTF8&qid=1295105920&sr=8-3-fkmr0), Track 3 for vocals, Track 13 for instrumental)
Poem published in, among other books:
Tomie’s Little Book of Poems (Poems by Various Artists, Illustrated by Tomie DePaola)
A Child’s Garden of Verses (Words by Robert Louis Stevenson, Illustrated in Many Editions by Various Artists, Illustrated Above by Brian Wildsmith)

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The Tree in the Wood
(An Old Nursery Song)
Adapted and Illustrated by Christopher Manson

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Tweedle Dee Dee
Traditional Words and Tune (Text based on the traditional song “The Tree in the Wood,” AKA “The Green Grass Grew All Around”)
Illustrated by Charlotte Voake

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Tweety and Puddy Tat Twouble (Capitol Record-Reader)
Produced by Alan Livingston
Story by Tedd Pierce and Warren Foster
Music by Billy May
Illustrations by Alfred Abranz and Don MacLaughlin
Features the voice of Mel Blank
More info, here: http://records.goldenagecartoons.com/wb01.html

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Twelve Days of Christmas
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Jan Brett

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Twelve Days of Summer
Traditional Tune (“Twelve Days of Christmas”)
Word Adaptations by Jan Andrews
Illustrated by Susan Rennick Jolliffe

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Wedding Birds
Traditional Words and Music
Illustrated by Jutta Ash

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Who Killed Cock Robin
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Etienne Delessert

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Willie Was Different (A Children’s Story)
Written and Illustrated by Norman Rockwell
Hear the song of a wood thrush here: http://www.songbird.org/birds/woodthrush.htm
or here: http://www.birdjam.com/birdsong.php?id=32&osCsid=17k5flg24plve0td1rohdpij52
Although this is not a Singable Picture Book, it is about a wood thrush who sings and it is the only picture book Norman Rockwell created for especially for children.  And, it is a real charmer about the JOY singing one’s own song can be to oneself and to others (and that is what I hope everyone will do with Singable Picture Books!).

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Related Articles:

I imagine that just about every volume in this long list of poetry compilations for children (all of which contain Singable Poetry) include Singable Poetry that mention birds!

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SINGABLE POETRY
An ever-expanding list of  singable poems from compilations or singable poems creating individual Singable Picture Books
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/

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CHRISTMAS
A Collection of Singable Picture Books that celebrate CHRISTMAS!
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/singable-picture-books-for-christmas/

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EARTH’S BEAUTY AND BOUNTY, STEWARDSHIP AND BEING GREEN
Celebrate Earth’s beauty and bounty, being green, and environmental stewardship with this lovely list of Singable Picture Books:
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/01/06/singable-picture-books-with-a-green-theme/

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SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK WISHES 1 (PICTURE BOOKS THAT NEED SONGS)
Like Pinocchio wished to become a real boy, I imagine that these books wish to become Singable.
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/02/28/singable-picture-book-wishes-books-that-wish-to-become-singable-and-songs-that-wish-to-be-illustrated/

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SINGABLE PICTURE BOOK WISHES 2 (SONGS THAT WISH TO BE ILLUSTRATED)
There songs are BEGGING to become Singable Picture Books
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2011/03/06/singable-picture-book-wishes-2-songs-that-wish-to-be-illustrated/

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SINGABLE POETRY
An ever-expanding list of  singable poems from compilations or singable poems creating individual Singable Picture Books
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/

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ILLUSTRATED COLLECTIONS OF CHILDREN’S SONGS WITH MUSIC
http://singbookswithemily.wordpress.com/2012/08/15/illustrated-collections-of-childrens-songs-with-music/

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Other Singable Picture Book categories that will include songs celebrating birds include:

• Lullabies
• Mother Goose
• Nursery Rhymes
• Illustrated Songbook Compilations