Books that lend themselves to singing are a great storytime addition and helps build early literacy skills! Sometimes I’ll teach everyone the song before breaking into the book, but other times I’ll just let them catch on and join in when they’re comfortable. Some of these books are to old familiar tunes, some provide the necessary notes for the tunes inside, some provide nothing at all but with a little imagination, the reader can make up a tune!
Oh, this is one of my favorite books to read for storytime! Brave Cowboy tries to sing his young calf pals to sleep on a dark, dark night, with humorous results. This is one where I make up the tune, but the words also go well to the tune of Hush Little Baby.
A little girl and her stuffed animal monkey go to the zoo! The girl’s actions as she pretends to be each new beast can give rise to a guessing game for children, resolved when a turn of the page shows the actual animal mimicked. I just make up a small tune for the repetitious line “Monkey and me,/Monkey and me,/Monkey and me,/we went to see…”
On a gray and rainy day, a lonely kitten feels better after writing a song, and as she sings the “magic” song around her neighborhood, her animal friends cheer up, as well.
An update of the classic folk song, Old MacDonald, featuring farm vehicles like excavator, dump truck, and bulldozer.
In this twist on the classic song “The Wheels on the Bus,” the wheels on the tuk tuk go round and round all over the city in India.
Factual information about the bones in the body is presented in the course of a rendition of the traditional African American spiritual.
In this illustrated version of Bob Marley’s song, a young girl enlists her friends, family, and community to transform their neighborhood for the better.
A picture book adaptation of the song Singing in the Rain, which celebrates the glory of clouds and rain.
The fun begins when Grandma and Grandpa send invitations to their far-flung family! Off everyone goes, driving down snowy roads, riding the train, boarding a plane … even sailing along in a hot-air balloon.
As he walks down the street, Pete the cat sings about his brand new white shoes as they change from red to blue to brown to wet.
In the rhythm of a familiar folk song, a child cannot resist adding one more dab of paint in surprising places.
In this folktale from Panama, a little rabbit and his Tia Monica outwit a fox, a tiger, and a lion, all of whom want to eat him for lunch.
Hazel Nut wants to sing and dance, but Mama, Papa, and Wally Nut are too busy, so Hazel calls in a special family member to get everyone moving.
A child sings along with the songs made by everyday sounds, from the chirping of a robin in the morning to the cooing of baby sister as she falls asleep in the evening. This one is less of a song and focuses more on playing with sounds.
As soon as the sun goes down, the animals are up! Before long, there’s a giant farmyard dance party, complete with funny animal sounds. But what happens when all the racket wakes up Farmer Sue?
In this version of the traditional song, each of the sleepers who fall, leap, bounce, or wobble out of bed when the little one says “Move over” represents a different profession.
Monsters sing their own version of this popular song that encourages everyone to express their happiness through voice and movement.
A young girl numbers her discoveries in the world around her, from one dragon boat to four mahjong players to ten bamboo stalks. The text in this book goes along well with the familiar tune, Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star.
Librarian Ginny 