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: Kareem Between

  Kareem Between By Shifa Saltagi Safadi New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. Fiction. 324 pages.  Kareem loves football and as he gets ready to start seventh grade he dreams of someday becoming the first Syrian American NFL player. Seventh grade is not off to a great start for Kareem, after football tryouts don't go as he had planned, his best friend moves away, and his mom returns to Syria to help bring his sick grandfather to the US for treatment. So when Austin, the quarterback and coach's son, offers to talk to his dad and get Kareem on the football team in the spring, if he will cheat and do his homework for him, Kareem agrees. Kareem really wants to fit in at school and he is desperate to find a friend, but deep down he knows that doing Austin's homework isn't the right thing to do. And to make things harder, Kareem's mom asks him to be a friend to Fadi, a Syrian Christian refugee. He knows he should stand up for Fadi and help him adjust to the new school,...

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...

Winter 2026 Book Boxes

Looking for a new read? We’ve got you covered! Check out one of our Book Boxes for kids ages 9-12. Each Book Box contains a book to check out, as well as envelopes filled with fun surprises that you can open as you read along. We have two new books available to check out! Boxes can be put on hold through the library website, and can picked up at the Circulation Desk. Our One Dead Spy and The Case of the Missing Marquess Book Boxes will each be available to pick up from December 19, 2025 through December 30, 2026. Each child aged 9-12 can check out each Book Box once during that time, so get one now to read during winter break, or wait until summer and check it out then! One Dead Spy By Nathan Hale New York : Amulet Books, 2012. 127 pages. Comic. This graphic novel tells the tale of Nathan Hale, one of America's first spies, who was hanged for espionage in 1776. But in this version, just before he is set to be hanged he is eaten by a giant book, which he uses to explain the revoluti...