Singable Picture Books of Peter Spier
Posted on: June 29, 2012
“The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night ” is, in my experience, one of the most universally loved of Singable Picture Books. It’s almost like they can’t help themselves, that fox casts a spell. We open the book, the tune begins and the children are THERE and especially for Peter Spier’s amazingly detailed pictoral storytelling.
Another universal favorite is “The Star Spangled Banner,” also extravagantly illustrated by Peter Spier, but not just that first verse that we sing as our National Anthem, but the ENTIRE poem penned by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812. It is fantastic.
Peter Spier’s repertoire is long and wide-ranging. Here are his Singable Picture Books:
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And So My Garden Grows (The Mother Goose Library)
Rhymes and Tunes by Various Artists
Illustrated by Peter Spier
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The Erie Canal
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Peter Spier
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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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London Bridge is Falling Down
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Peter Spier
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Star Spangled Banner
Words by Francis Scott Key
Music by J. Stafford Smith
Illustrated by Peter Spier
(When it comes to creating accurately detailed pictures that are fun to look at and respect the intelligence of children, you can’t find a better illustrator than Peter Spier. This book features printed music and a detailed essay about the song.)
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To Market! To Market! (The Mother Goose Library)
Traditional Words and Tune
Illustrated by Peter Spier
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We the People (The Constitution of the United States of America)
Contains Singable Elements from the Untied States Constitution
Text by Peter Spier
Illustrated by Peter Spier
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This link to Scholastic/Weston Woods “Classic Folk Songs” DVD Library package includes “The Erie Canal,” illustrated by Peter Spier:
http://westonwoods.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/catalog/product.asp?cid=822
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A biography of Peter Spier as a Dutch-American, here:
http://www.nnp.org/nni/Publications/Dutch-American/Peterspier.htm
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A GOOGLE IMAGES search of “Peter Spier” reveals a fantastic assortment of his illustrations that you can see online:
https://www.google.com/search?q=peter+spier&hl=en&prmd=imvnsbo&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=8NzlT4WEBKfN6QGLlanhDg&ved=0CIQBELAE&biw=1440&bih=775
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