Whether you’re reading to Spanish-speaking children, want to teach a bit of Spanish to English speakers, or just want to have fun, “Oh Crumps!/ Ay Carumba!” is a wonderfully funny book. Sleepy Farmer Fernando keeps waking up to animal sounds – and every time he tends to one group of animals,another group wakes up and needs help. […]
Category Archives: Stories
We’re Going on a Picnic! by Pat Hutchins In this very cute, silly story, Chicken, Duck, and Goose are going on a picnic, but they can’t agree on a perfect spot for it. As they walk along searching forthat elusive “just right” location, they sing “We’re going on a picnic, we’re going on a picnic” (I […]
The Baby Beebee Bird by Diane Redfield Massey This is one of my students’ all-time favorites! The little beebee bird, new to the zoo, wakes everyone up with his silly song – “Bee-bee, bobby-bobby.” I make up my own tune for this, but any tune would work, as long as it’s high-pitched and annoying! Children will be singing the bird’s […]
Peepsqueak Wants a Friend by Leslie Ann Clark I just discovered this story recently and my students love it! All of the other chicks in the farmyard are in 2’s (they each have a friend) but Peepsqueak is only 1. He goes off to look for a friend, telling each pair of friends (I sing this to the […]
Young children LOVE this book! This silly version of “The Three Little Pigs” has a lot of huffing and puffing for children to join in with, a familiar chant, and a super-silly surprise ending that children, adults, pigs, and wolves can all appreciate!
Old Makimba Had a Farm by Rachel Isadora It seems like all young children are familiar with Old MacDonald! In this version, set in Africa, preschoolers can learn about different kinds of animals, from cheetahs to baboons. Best of all, children can sing along on the “E-I- E-I-O” chorus, which keeps them actively engaged in […]
Way Up High in a Tall Green Tree by Jan Peck This story describes a little girl’s exploration of the rain forest and all its beautiful creatures. Children can have fun making the animals’ sounds and movements. Also, the first two lines of every two-page spread, “Way up high in a tall green tree, I saw […]
Music (and Science) For Young Children 