Skip to main content

Five Faves: Picture Books You Can Sing

 Lots of kids LOVE to sing! I do as well, which is why I love books that are set to popular songs or are variations of nursery rhymes. These authors and illustrators are very creative in how they change up these songs to create something familiar, yet different. My only problem is remembering to slow down so I don't sing too fast to enjoy the pictures!

Hush, Little Rocket
Written by Mo O'Hara
Illustrated by Alexandra Cook
New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Picture Book.

It's hard to go to sleep without a good story to imagine. Set to the tune of "Hush, Little Baby," Hush, Little Rocket will help fill your little one's head with images of this rocket blasting off through the solar system. Making sure to introduce the different planets seen along the way, this is a great bedtime book for any future space explorers. Back matter gives more information about the solar system for those who are interested.

Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night
Written by Megan Litwin
Illustrated by Nneka Myers
New York: Clarion Books, an imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, 2022. Picture Book.

Warm up the chilly evenings with this book set to the familiar song "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night celebrates the cozy atmosphere of winter and all that makes the season magical. Curl up with your child to see if they can find all the different glowing lights in the darkest time of year.

Written by Kalee Gwarjanski
Illustrated by Elizabet Vukovic
New York: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 2024. Picture Book.

There's more to farms than barnyard animals! Set to the kid-favorite "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," Miss MacDonald Has a Farm highlights all the things that grow on a farm, and all the work that goes into producing food. Whether it's a "weed-weed here" or a "pick-pick there," children will see that there's a lot that Miss MacDonald has to do to make sure her farm "E-I-E-I-Grows!"

The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round
Written by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
Illustrated by Lorian Tu
New York: Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2021. Picture Book.

Would you rather be on a bus or eating a delicious Chinese meal? I know my answer, but whatever you chose, this take on "The Wheels on the Bus" is sure to delight. The Rice in the Pot Goes Round and Round is a fun sampling of sounds, smells, and tastes that accompany a Chinese family making dinner. There is also explanations of food etiquette in the back of the book. 

The Rattlin' Bog
Written by Jessica Law
Illustrated by Brian Fitzgerald
Concord, MA: Barefoot Books, 2024. Picture Book.

This illustrated version of the traditional Irish folk song shows the biodiversity of the bog. Different plants and animals are highlighted in the cumulative verses of The Rattlin' Bog. It is fun to sing along and see if you can remember all the animals that were featured on earlier pages. If you're not familiar with this song, back matter includes sheet music and this book comes with a CD to help you learn the song.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...

Review: Faker

Faker By Gordon Korman New York: Scholastic Press, 2024. Fiction. 214 pages. 12-year-old Trey is used to starting over at a new school -- he has the routine perfectly memorized: make new friends, introduce his dad to the wealthy parents of his new friends, and "Houdini" themselves out of there before they get caught running their latest scam. Trey's dad is a master con artist, and Trey has just been promoted to full-partner. Their new scheme for the next big score brings them to the affluent suburb of Boxelder, TN where Trey's dad has cooked up a fake electric car company for investors to buy into. The only problem is that Trey is starting to grow tired of moving around and never putting down roots, especially after forming a fast friendship with Logan and developing a crush on Kaylee, a socially conscious girl in his class. As Trey longs for a normal life, is there any way he can convince his dad to get out of the family business? Gordon Korman is a perennial favorit...