Folk Song Books
"Hush Little Baby" by Marla FrazeeIn addition to being a beautifully illustrated retelling of the wonderful folk song, there is a beautiful subplot about an older sibling learning how to cope with feelings of jealously toward a new baby. I love the illustrations of frantic sleepless parents willing to do anything to get their little one to sleep. At the end of the book the entire family decides that as a last resort they will all climb into the cart for a drive as a last ditch effort to get some much needed sleep. The cart actually topples over bringing out the best in big sister while the only ones who fall asleep are mom and dad. LOVE IT! |
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"The Farmer in the Dell" by Ilse PlumeThis beautifully illustrated book brings to life this old folk song. The story begins at planting season and ends at harvest. The illustrations look almost Amish with a touch of Grandma Moses, so if you appreciate good Americana art work this book is for you. My only disappointment is that the book is so delicate and small it is rather difficult but not impossible to share with a group of eager students who all want to see. This book is a real treasure! |
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"The Cheese" by Margie PalatiniThis book is AWESOME! As such, I would like to
award it the first ever Melodysoup “YUMMY” award.
Reading this great book with children is simply a
delicious experience. “The Cheese” is a fabulous
retelling of the Farmer in the Dell from the perspective
of the Rat. The text lends itself well to being
read aloud especially if the reader is willing to put in
the extra effort to develop a voice for all the
different characters. Personally I like to give
the rat a little bit of a lisp. I would only ever
read this book to children who have played “The Farmer
in the Dell” extensively otherwise they don’t have the
background knowledge to appreciate the book.
However, if “The Farmer in the Dell” is a part of your
repertoire, then this is the book for you. Harper
Collins has put together a few resources to accompany
this book. It’s hard to imagine printing them
because they are very very colorful, but they might be
projectable. When this book is used in combination with the song “The Farmer in the Dell” as well as more traditional “farmer” books like "The Farmer in the Dell" by Ilse Plume you can put together a richly and deeply integrated music/language arts lesson that will keep your administrators happy! |
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"Home on the Range" by Brian AjharI love this book. The soft pastels and whimsical illustrations support the dream-like quality of the book. A young boy begins the book playing with his toy cowboy and horse before going to bed. In his dreams he rides his rocking horse out across the plains and experiences the wide open prairies. I think that this book appeals to me most because I grew up in an area of wide open spaces and now I live in the city. I hope my students who have been born and raised in the urban wilderness somehow get the chance to experience our last remaining empty spaces for themselves one day. I bring this book out every year for our annual “Go Texas Day” celebration each February and accompany the book with guitar. Even though the song could serve a sweet lullaby, my students, even the big kids, never get tired of this song. My favorite verse is the one where the curlew screams. I laugh every time I read it. |