The
Sad Story of Veronica Who Played the Violin
David McKee ISBN 0-91629-137-5
Submitted by Jean Strickland.
Jean just finished in-servicing the Music Specialists in PSUSD and this
is one of the books she presented a lesson for. The book itself is
hilarious. Its tongue-in-cheek humor might fly by some of the younger
students, but it will certainly entertain the reader...and there is enough
child level interest in the story for your students...and, the ending is
definitely dark humor, but at a level that kids will appreciate and understand.
Jean showed us this book as a way to use literature with our music curriculum,
particularly the sound banks of instruments which are on our CDs.
This is an excellent opportunity to introduce an instrument and it's sound
without simply showing it and playing it...if you can even play the violin!
I'm definitely buying this book to share with my students.
Salsa Lillian Colón-Vilá ISBN 1-55885-220-4
This is a bilingual edition of a wonderful book. In it, Rita describes
the Afro-Carribbean music called salsa and pretends to be a famous salsa
director. The vibrant colors of the illustrations makes the book
enjoyable to read and, even more fun, is the last page where Rita tells
us how she dances the salsa. This book along with some basic percussion
instruments really makes fr a fun lesson!
Schoolhouse
Rock! : The Official Guide
Tom Yohe and George Newall ISBN 0-7868-8170-4
My students love Schoolhouse Rock! (it still plays between the saturday
morning cartoons in my district) and this book is a favorite to borrow
during their free time...I've even let it go home with a child or two...and
it's come back in perfect shape. It's a great way for them to connect
the songs they're learning on television with the written word and increase
their literacy skills. If Schoolhouse Rock! is still playing in you
district, I would go so far as to call this book a must have!
Science Book of Sound Neil Ardley ISBN 0-12-200579-X
This is one of my Science of Sound books (but that much is probably
obvious from the title, no?). I like this book because not only does
it explain what sound is and how it is produced, but it has a number of
simple but informative science experiments for the students to do.
In fact, I've had a teacher or two borrow it for a little while while trying
to choose a project for their science lessons. The experiments, for
the most part, are easy to accomplish and most of the items needed for
the experiments are things the students (or teachers) will be able to find
in their kitchens. Easy and informative...a good combination!
Sebastian Jeanette Winter ISBN 0-15-200629-X
Although I'm no longer teaching at the elementary school level, I saw this book in a local book stoore, read it, and felt I had to buy it. So, I did, and donated it to the library at the school I used to teach at. :-) One of the reasons I bought it, except for its beautiful pictures and very readable text was that it describes polyphony so eloquently that I wish I'd had that page alone when I was teaching elementary school! Check it out!
Shaker Hearts Ann Warren Turner ISBN 0-06-025369-X
This is a really neat book! I was looking for something to support the song "Simple Gifts" and help me answer questions that invariably come up around it, such as, "Who wrote this song," or "What does it mean?" I ran across this book ni a bargain bin by chance and I'm glad I did! This book combines many verses (each includes "hands to work, hearts to God") with beautifully simple acryllic paintings to descibe life in a Shaker community. So, while not a music book, exactly, it could very well lend a hand in explaining any questions you might be asked.
Simple
Gifts : A Shaker Hymn
ill. Chris Raschka ISBN
0-805-05143-0
Submitted by Cheryl Abbott (sorry, she doesn't have an e-mail address...yet).
This is a really nifty book. Chris Raschka illustrated this beautiful
Shaker Hymn wonderfully...and I was lucky enough to receive the book as
a gift from Ms. Abbott. Although I haven't yet used the book in my
lesson plans, I have a few ideas to share with you about it. First,
the song itself is wonderful. All of my students, grades 1-5, learn
this song...it's become something of an unofficial school song. And,
instead of me forcing it on the students, they ask for it now. They
are really invested in the song. As for the book, the illustrations
are beautiful (simple ones of animals which follow the theme of the song)
and the words are in large script. I thought that was especially
interesting: the words are not in print, but in cursive writing.
Not only does this keep with the idea of the song (about turning and spinning),
but it's a nifty way to support our students who are just beginning to
learn cursive writing. I'm looking forward to using this book in
my classes, and I'm sure that before I do a student will come across it
in my Book Box and fall in love with it! Thanks, Ms. Abbott!
And, for another book on this subject to help your children better understand
the Shakers, check out Shaker
Hearts above.
Sing
a Song of Circus
Ward Schumaker ISBN 0-15-201363-6
With it's retro-style illustrations and its "Sing a Song of Sixpence"
rhyme scheme, this is a fun book that I've recently added to my library.
The story of two escaped balloons who decide to join the circus is great
for my younger students as they have fun watching the balloons' adventures.
And, for my older students, I use it as an example of how a person can
take one rhyme and change it to make it theie own, a fantastic help when
trying to show them how to add verses to existing songs (one of my third
grade projects)!
Skip
Across the Ocean: Nursery Rhymes from Around the World
Floella Benjamin ISBN 0-531-09455-3
This is a wonderful compilation of nursery rhymes from around the world,
collected by Floella Benjamin. Since poetry is just a step away from
music, this book seemed like a natural for me...plus it's so multi-cultural!
Then, as I paged through it, I noticed several poems that are, in fact,
songs that my students already know (El Coquí, Kookaburra, and Frère
Jacques among them) and I thought it would be an excellent opportunity
to show them a link between music and poetry once again. Plus, the
book taught me a lot of Nursery rhymes that I'd never heard before.
And, as icing on the cake, the illustrations are really neat (they look
like pastels to me, but what do I know)!
The
Song and Dance Man
Karen Ackerman ISBN 0-394-99330-6
This book won the Caldecott Medal in 1988. It's a charming story
three children who go and visit Grandpa. And, while they are waiting
for dinner, Grandpa takes his three children up to the attic and opens
the chest which stores all his equipment from his vaudeville days.
Suddenly, the attic is alive with song and dance, and the children (as
well as the readers) are taken back to a time before television when Grandpa
was a song and dance man. It's a beautifully written and illustrated
story that shows children what sorts of things their predecessors might
have done in days not-quite-so long ago.
Song of the Swallows Leo Politi ISBN 0-684-18831-7
This gentle book won the Caldecott Medal back in 1950. It is the story of a young boy named Juan who grows sad when the swallows, las golondrinas, leave Capistrano. But, after hearing about the old days at Capistrano from Julian, the old bell ringer, Juan grows happier knowing that the beautiful birds will be returning on St. Joseph's Day. It is a great book to use, whether teaching the students about the cycles of nature or to teach the students about some of the old missions of California. Within the story are two songs which are not terribly difficult. I teach the songs first, and then read the story, having my students then sing the songs once the come up in the book.
The Sorcerer's Apprentice Ted Dewan ISBN 0-385-32537-1
This really cool book that combines techno-magic and mathematics in
a neat retelling of Goethe's tale perhaps made more famous by Dukas'
scherzo, "L'Apprenti sorcier." In the tale and messy old inventor
comes up with the idea of making a machine that can clean up after itself...and,
of course, following the same lines the the Sorcerer's Apprentice sequence
in Disney's Fantasia, trouble ensues. The illustrations are wonderful,
reminding the reader that if Dukas' music isn't playing as you read this
tale (or at least running through your head) then it should be: there
are musical notes everywhere...including the in the diagrams for the Apprentice.
This is a cute retelling of a classic...and version that might make this
story a little more accessible for children whose parents might say magic
is not something to be discussed.
Sound,
Heat & Light : Energy at Work
ISBN 0-590-46103-6
El sonido, el calor y la luz: Energía en
acción
ISBN 0-590-46837-5
Melvin Berger
Unfortunately, this book is one that is hard to find. So hard,
in fact, that Amazon.com doesn't even
have a listing for the Spanish version. So, although there is no
hyper-text link for the Spanish version, I wanted to give you the ISBN
just in case you wanted to search for it yourself. Or, you can check
Scholastic...they might still offer it. This is a great Science of
Sound (and other things) for the older grades. My fourth graders
have gotten a lot out of it when they wanted some explanation as to why
things worked how they did.
The Star-Spangled Banner Peter Spier ISBN 0-440-40697-8
This is a fantastic book! Our National Anthem, the Star-Spangled
Banner, is one of the most difficult songs in the country to sing...and
when you're 6, it's not only hard to sing, but it's tough to understand
as well. This book helps immensely! Not only is is it illustrated
by Peter Spier, one if the most celebrated illustrator of children's books,
but he illustrates is by what the song is actually saying! So, you
get to see the rockets red glare and look over the ramparts. Not
only that, but it goes through three of the song's four verses and has
all four verses printed in back. Finally, there is a picture of the
original poem by Francis Scott Key, many illustrations of our nation's
flags, and a couple of pages which details the history of the Revolutionary
War. An excellent purchase in my opinion!
Strategies
for Teaching : K-4 General Music
MENC ISBN 1-565-45081-7
This is another pedagogical resource that is published by the MENC/CMEA.
If you'd like to go to their page and check them out, click their name
above. However, this is an excellent resource to have as it takes
each of the fundamentals of Music Education and gives an example lesson
that would fulfill that requirement. Great to pull from directly
or
to use to create your own lessons. It's a good thing. :-)
Summertime:
from Porgy and Bess
George Gershwin ISBN 0-689-80719-8
Just about every music teacher has heard Gershwin's "Summertime."
Well, now there is an illustrated book that follows the song's lyrics beautifully,
taking the readers (and their students) on a slow ride through a languid
summer's day. The book works wonderfully with the lyrics, and my
only regret is that I didn't find this book prior to the end of the 1998-9
school year: I would have loved to have used it (along with the recording
of the opera) during the last couple of weeks of school! But,
I have it now and you can bet that I'll use it next year!