• Pre-school

Rock-a-Baby Band by:Kate McMullan

Babies rock and roll throughout the book! Preschoolers love to laugh at the babies antics and will join in the chorus of "Shake it baby, shake it."

Sing, Sophie! by:Dayle Ann Dodds

A little girl makes up songs, but can't find anyone to appreciate her singing. In the end, it is discovered that her singing is truly special.

Punk Farm by:Jarrett J. Krosoczka

Eee-i-ee-i-oh with a rock 'n roll twist!

The Bear by:Kenneth J. Spengler

A tale which can be sung, The Bear, has plenty of action as a little girl tries to escape a bear. Based on an American folk song.

If you have access to a keyboard, the children really love this activity. I open the storytime with my puppet and her piece of music, "Mary Had a Little Lamb." (one of the children holds the music while she plays). I rarely do storytimes without finger plays or songs in between, but this program flows without them. Before I start the activity, I point out that books have words that tell us what to say and that music is written on a staff and we read that to play music. I then hand out "notes" to several children and have them place them on a staff explaining that it will work best if they don't put them all on the same line or space. I use a length of butcher paper with just a simple staff and treble clef sign drawn on it. I wrap it around a collapsed table top and brace the table against the wall on it's side. After they complete their "song", I play the tune for them. Afterwards, everyone gets a staff, (I use a legal size sheet of paper),and ten notes (plain circles)to place on the lines and spaces. When they are complete, they bring them up to the keyboard and we play their "songs."

I offer a music related coloring page for the children to work on until it is their turn to have their song played.