I have been teaching music to children (ages 4-14) for 6 years. One type of lesson that I like to incorporate is reading literature that involves or discusses music to my students...and, later, making these books available to the students to read on their own.
However, I have found it consistently difficult to locate books that I can use. I have not yet found a bookstore that has an area dedicated to this subject (although there have been a couple of educational supply stores and music stores that have a small selection).
So, in an attempt to share what I've found, here is a list of books I have used with my classes that they have enjoyed. If the book listed can be acquired through Amazon.com, clicking on the title of the book will lead to the appropriate page. Going to this page will not automatically order the book, it will simply provide you with more information about the book and lead you through the ordering process should you choose to purchase the book.
If you have a book that you would like to see included on this page, please e-mail me the title, author, ISBN, and any comments that you have about the book and I will update my page!
In recent days, teachers have e-mailed me saying that this list was great, but too long. So, I've split it into seperate pages catagorized alphabetically by title. You can either click on a letter to go to the appropriate page. Also, I have left off the pictures of the covers in an effort to minimize the time it takes to upload these pages onto your system. In case you're curious, below you'll find an alphabetical index of th books I've included in my web-pages so far.
So, click a letter to check it out...
...or, go back to my Home Page
Aaron Copland (Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers)
Aïda
Amazing Grace: the Story of the Hymn
The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera
Beethoven Lives Upstairs
Best-Loved Children's Songs from Japan
Bravo, Amelia Bedelia!
Brown Girl in the Ring
Can You Dance, Dalila?
Cat and Rat: The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac
'De Colores' and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children
Dem Bones
Django
E
F
The Flute Player
The Flute Player/La Flautista
Folk Rhymes from Around the World
The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
Giraffes Can't Dance
Hearing Things/Lo que escuchas
The Highwayman
Inch by Inch: the Garden Song
Introducing Beethoven
The Itsy Bitsy Spider
Jolly Mon
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Keep on Singing: A Ballad of Marian Anderson
The Kodály Method
Lentil
Making Sounds
Mary Wore Her Red Dress
Max Found Two Sticks
Mole Music
Moses Goes to a Concert
Mozart (Famous Children Series)
Mummer's Song
Music (Eyewitness Books)
The Music Pack/a Unique Three-Dimensional Tour...
My Very First Mother Goose
Nana Hannah's Piano
The Napping House
The Night Before Christmas
Niñez: Spanish Songs, Games and Stories
of Childhood
No Mirrors in my Nana's House
Old MacDonald Had a Farm
Pamela's First Musical
The Princess and the Pea
Q
R
Radio Boy
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
Roots and Branches
Rounds for Children
The Sad Story of Veronica Who Played the Violin
Salsa
Schoolhouse Rock! : The Official Guide
Science Book of Sound
Sebastian
Shaker Hearts
Simple Gifts: A Shaker Hymn
Sing a Song of Circus
Skip Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes from Around the
World
The Song and Dance Man
Song of the Swallows
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Sound, Heat & Light : Energy at Work/El sonido, el
calor y la luz: Energía en acción
The Star-Spangled Banner
Strategies for Teaching: K-4 General Music
Summertime: from Porgy and Bess
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Tchaikovsky Discovers America
Ten Little Rabbits
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
This Is the House That Jack Built
This Old Man
To Every Thing There is a Season
To Everything
Tuesday
Turandot
Twelve Lizards Leaping
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Ty's One-Man Band
The Usborne French Songbook for Beginners
V
W
We're Going on a Bear Hunt
What a Wonderful World
What is your Language?
X
Y
Yankee Doodle
Zin! Zin! Zin! : A Violin