Benable — create shareable lists of things you recommend!
E.g., products you love, local businesses, travel recs - you can add anything to a Benable list!
Books for the Elementary Music Classroom (and for kids who love music!)
28
items These are the books that I own and have used in my music classroom. I try to end each class with my UPK-2nd graders with a book. Some are sung, and some are just awesome!
Sections
4
Books to Sing
Books About Famous Musicians
Books that teach musical concepts
Books that are just wonderful
Books to Sing
My students love this one... What happens when Mary's little lamb goes off on its own? Such a cute book!
Mary Had a Little Lamb (Iza Trapani)
All of these nursery rhymes by Iza Trapani are absolutely adorable and my students love them. We sing them with gusto!
It's Raining, It's Pouring (Extended Nursery Rhymes)
This one has a great message to not expect people to give you something they don't have. We can only give what we've got.
Baa Baa Black Sheep: Trapani, Iza
Another classic with Iza Trapani's Extended story, so much fun!
I'm a Little Teapot (Iza Trapani's Nursery Rhymes)
There are a lot of versions of this one out there, but this one's my favorite. The pictures are great, with holes revealing the things in her stomach as she swallows the next thing!
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly
Another of Iza Trapani's fabulous re-tellings of favorite nursery rhymes!
The Itsy Bitsy Spider book by Iza Trapani
Again, Iza Trapani knocks it out of the park!
How Much Is That Doggie in the Window? book by Iza Trapani
My littles LOVE this book! They ask for it all the time. It's so much fun to sing the song as we read the book!
Five Little Ducks (Raffi Songs to Read)
I absolutely love this one, and so do my students! After singing through the book, we then make up some of our own rhymes to add to the song!
Down By the Bay (Raffi Songs to Read)
I'm a true hippie at heart, so I love Peter, Paul, and Mary. This book has a special place in my heart, teaching my littles the music of my childhood!
Puff, the Magic Dragon book by Peter Yarrow
Another amazing Iza Trapani book, they really are so much fun!
The Bear Went Over the Mountain book by Iza Trapani
Such a fun song, and a lovely story that differs a bit from the original song, but fun to sing with the kids!
Froggy Went A-courtin' (Smithsonian Favorites)
Books About Famous Musicians
When it comes to teaching kids about famous composers, these books are wonderful. They have a lot of information in an accessible version that kids can understand, along with some pictures!
Aaron Copland book by Mike Venezia
I love Stravinsky, and I love this book series for famous composers!
Igor Stravinsky book by Mike Venezia
Another Great Composer book!
Johann Sebastian Bach book by Mike Venezia
My favorite composer in a book from my favorite composer series!
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart book by Mike Venezia
Another from the Great Composers series, my kiddos love them!
Ludwig Van Beethoven book by Mike Venezia
The “Who Was?” book series is really awesome for introducing kids to famous and notable people. Super accessible and lots of musicians in there!
Who Was?
Books that teach musical concepts
I love using this book when we study Peter and the Wolf. The kids love the story, and putting the music together with it!
Peter and the Wolf book by Sergei Prokofiev
I love to use this book to practice reading simple rhythms. Afterwards, we do a project where each kid gets to pick their own super power, and then they write a rhythm that will activate it! Such a fun way to get the littles composing!
Rhythm Rescue by Vicky Weber
Such an awesome book for teaching about this piece of music!
In the Hall of the Mountain King book by Vesper Stamper
Written by a music teacher, this book is awesome for introducing the families of instruments!
Embrace Your Sound (The Family Dynamics Series)
Books that are just wonderful
This book is really fun for teaching crescendo, repeating “No more creepy carrots” each time we see them, slowly getting louder each time. The kids love it!
Creepy Carrots! (Jasper Rabbit's Creepy Tales!)
This is such a great book that lets kids know that just because they can't do something someone else can do doesn't mean they can't do anything. They just have to find their own thing!
Music in Me book by Jane Pinczuk
Another book that is written by a music teacher, this is great for showing how we all get a bit scared/nervous, but we can get through it!
Maya and the Stage Fright by Weber & Jasinski
I love using this one when it starts to get nice outside. Take the kids outside after and have them listen to the sounds around them. Really helps with their awareness of the world!
The Listening Walk
My kids LOVE this book! The included CD with narration by John Lithgow is just icing on the cake. He is so amazing at reading/singing his own book!
Never Play Music Right Next to the Zoo
This one is great to read right before we start drawing to music. I let the kids draw whatever the music makes them feel, and I love seeing what they come up with!
Niko Draws a Feeling