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Annotated Bibliography of
Song Books and CDs/tape cassettes Appropriate for Second
Language Learners
Judy Magallanes
 The
following bibliography is intended for teachers of second
language learners. While the songbooks reviewed are
particularly appropriate for the very young learners, they
may also be used with the older learner as well. The
bibliography is divided into two parts. The first section
contains songbooks that are packaged with audio cassettes,
or music CDs, or have optional music that can be purchased
separately. A second musical reference is provided for
each songbook with optional music. The second portion of
the bibliography contains songbooks of familiar songs or
rhymes that are not accompanied with CDs or audio
cassettes. However, any number of tapes or CDs can be
used in conjunction with these books.
Songbooks with Musical
Accompaniment
Archambault, J. & Martin, B. (1991). Chicka chicka boom
boom (with audio cassette). New York: Scholastic.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom is a delightful
story. Letters of the alphabet attempt to race up a
coconut tree. A says to B and B says to C, “I'll beat you
to the top of the coconut tree." Quickly, A entices the
entire alphabet up the tree. When X, Y and Z finally
scramble up the trunk, however, the weight is too much,
and down they all tumble in a colorful heap, "Chicka
Chicka...Boom! Boom!" Uppercase letters rush in to comfort
the little ones and one by one the letters recover in
amusingly battered fashion. Poor stubbed-toe E has a
swollen appendage, while F needs a band-aid and P is
black-eyed. As the tropic sun goes down and a radiant full
moon appears, indomitable A leaps out of bed,
double-daring his colleagues to another treetop race. This
nonsense verse delights with its deceptively simple
narrative and with the repetition of such catchy phrases
as ``skit skat skoodle doot.'' The alphabet rhyme is
presented with a jazzy tropical melody. A group of
children sing to the rhythm of a drum. Bright, graphic
illustrations accompany the catchy foot-tapping rhyme. The
illustrations are colorful, yet simple, and clearly depict
the narrative. Students can easily follow the storyline
and acquire the basic vocabulary through the images. Many
related instructional activities come to mind. The teacher
can have students cut construction paper for the letters
of the alphabet and other props that are mentioned in the
story (e.g., the tree or sun). Then, when students listen
to the song, they can play-act the story using their paper
creations. Students in Kindergarten through second grade
will appreciate these materials.
Christelow, E. (1989). Five little monkeys jumping on
the bed (with audio cassette). New York: Clarion
Books.
Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
is an entertaining song about five monkeys jumping on a
bed as they get ready to sleep. In a brief prelude to the
title rhyme, five little monkeys ready themselves for bed,
and say goodnight to their mother. As soon as they say
good night to Mama, the five little monkeys start to jump
on their bed. But trouble lies ahead as, one by one, they
fall off and hurt themselves. The monkeys, one by one,
fall off the bed and hurt themselves. With each successive
casualty, mother monkey dutifully consults the doctor, and
bandages the wounds. After the doctor issues a stern
order--No more monkeys jumping on the bed!--all five
battle-weary monkey children finally fall asleep, and
mother can also go to bed. Colored pencil drawings in soft
pastels depict the totally silly but lovable monkey family
and its doctor. The illustrations used for this book are
nicely done and help to portray the events of the story.
Students are able to follow the song with the
illustrations and understand the vocabulary though the
context. The song has an enjoyable melody and tempo. It is
a catchy tune that students will want to hear over and
over. This song and book can be used with all grade
levels. It can be used with young primary students as well
as those in upper grade levels. An activity would have the
students illustrate the subtraction problems that go along
with the story. Have one group illustrate five little
monkeys jumping on the bed, one falls off and bumps his
head. Then another group will illustrate four monkeys, and
so on. As the song is replayed, the students can hold up
their illustrated word problems at the appropriate time.
This activity is ideal for integrating English language
development with math.
Forest,
H. (1994). The animals could talk (with audio
cassette) (K. Hall, Illus.). Little Rock, AR: August
House.
The book and tape set, The Animals Could
Talk, written and performed by Heather Forest,
brilliantly retells Aesop’s Fables (Sour Grapes, The
Pitcher and the Crow, A Dog and His Bone, The Ox and the
Frog, The Oak and the Bramble, A Bundle of Sticks,
Beautiful as You Are, and twelve other tales). Forest has
a beautiful voice and she sings in a slow yet melodic and
catchy way. Her voice is very soothing and inviting. The
simple plots of these classic animal tales are captured in
Forest's lyrics. She retells the fables without morals,
allowing the listeners to derive their own meanings from
the stories. The guitar accompaniment for the catchy tunes
is the perfect complement to Forest's rich, vibrant voice.
The illustrations are in black and white so they are not
very captivating. Also, the illustrations in the book do
not depict much of the important vocabulary needed to
understand the songs’ meaning. The vocabulary for the
songs is appropriate for students in the fourth and fifth
grades. But, the book and tape set might be used with
students at lower grade levels, depending on their level
of English language development. As an activity, the
students can act out the song-fables. They can choose
various roles, such as a father, son, or many possible
animals. The students can make different props, character
puppets and act out the song as it is being sung.
McGill,
A. (2000). In the hollow of your hand: Slave lullabies
(with CD). (M. Cummings, Illus.). New York: Houghton
Mifflin.
This powerful book is a collection of 13
lullabies that slaves sang to their children. The
lullabies have been passed down from generation to
generation. Singer and storyteller McGill has collected
these thirteen lullabies from both sides of her family.
The songs contain the essence of African American survival
handed down from slavery days. They are written in the
dialect of those who sang them, and filled with faith,
touches of humor, and reassurances of love and protection.
Included with each lullaby are the song-lyrics and some
historical information about its origin. In the
accompanying CD, McGill talks to the listener about the
songs and her family. Then she sings each song in a voice
rich with emotion, accompanied by guitar and violin. She
also narrates some of the information in the text. For
those who would like to sing or play them, the basic
melodies are also included in small format. On opposing
pages, Cummings's full page, mixed-media collages present
bold, simplified shapes integrated with floral patterns of
cut fabrics, all elaborately framed. There is a sense of
visual vernacular, or a folk art that parallels the text.
The song-lyrics are difficult to comprehend at times,
because the unique dialect. Moreover, the illustrations,
depict very little of the vocabulary. Because of the
difficult vocabulary, the book is recommended for students
with a high level of English or students in the upper
grades who understand slavery. The book and its songs can
be used with a unit on slavery. A challenging activity for
older students would have them create better illustrations
for the lullabies that depict the unique vocabulary.
Mc Hugh,
C. K. (1997). Matthew traveled around the world (with
audio cassette). Ringwood, NJ: Music Fantasy.
Matthew Traveled Around the World is
about a young boy and his bunny Gonzalez who travel to
different parts of the globe. This book and listening tape
set provides very generalized information about several
countries (Mexico, Brazil, Italy, China, Japan)
continents, (Australia, Africa, Antarctica) and one state
(Hawaii). The story is presented in musical verse, for the
most part, but there are times when a narrator speaks and
Matthew finishes the sentence. For example, the narrator
says "Matthew’s name in Brazil is," and Matthew answers, "Mateus."
Matthew also counts to 10 in the language that represents
that part of the world. So, the students learn about
different continents and countries and they also learn
about the different languages in those parts of the world.
The song is performed in an entertaining manner but at a
pace that allows students to follow along and look at the
illustrations. The illustrations are filled with many
vibrant colors and depict different objects that represent
the parts of the world Matthew is visiting. Caricatures in
the book are a bit stereotypical, showing a touch of
traditional costume. A glossary at the end of the book
lists a few words and numbers up to ten from each country.
The kit also includes flash cards for learning to count in
the different languages. Following the text is a song
created by the author to promote understanding differences
and similarities of people around the world. The book and
song are a bit long so more appropriate for middle to late
second graders and up to grade five. This combination can
be used with a multicultural unit or a social studies unit
about continents. An activity for English Language
Development students would have them work in pairs to come
up with a dialog that follows the model in the book, but
in English. To make the activity more of challenge and
integrate technology, the students can choose a continent
or country for research on the Internet--they can learn
how to say their names in that country, count, and choose
a favorite food.
Milnes,
G. (1999). Granny will your dog bite? and other
mountain rhymes (with audio cassette). (K. B. Root,
Illus.) New York: August House.
The book Granny Will Your Dog Bite and
Other Mountain Rhymes is filled with a variety of 40
mountain rhymes and songs, collected by folk musician
Gerald Milnes. Each song has a back-country or farm life
theme. The songs are authentic Appalachian, down right
country rhymes using fiddles and banjos. Kimberly Bulcken
Root's watercolor illustrations are witty, energetic, and
carefully placed; white space, borders and slot
illustrations punctuate the poems, while soft earthen
colors and very delicate lines draw out the features of
these characters and their lives. Unfortunately, the
illustrations do not exactly depict the vocabulary in each
rhyme or song. Some of the rhymes are short while others
are a bit long. The music that accompanies the book is
sung by a variety of different performers and some are
children. These rhymes and songs are generally easy to
understand. But there are some singers that have a very
thick, southern, back-country accent that makes following
and understanding the lyrics more difficult. This book and
tape set can be used with students in grades three through
six during a variety of units. Some of those units are
farms, pioneer life, mountain life, and oral folklore. An
activity for one of the rhymes would have the students
find the rhyming words or word families within the rhyme
or song then come up with other word families or rhyming
words that go with that particular set of words.
Raffi.
(2002). Spider on the floor. New York: Random House
Children’s Books.
Raffi
(1996). Spider on the floor. On Singable songs for the
very young [CD]. Rounder/PGD.
Spider on the Floor is an entertaining
story about a spider crawling up a woman’s body. The
meddlesome little spider starts on the floor, then travels
upward along a woman's leg, stomach, and neck, all the
while spinning a web. First, a mosquito gets tangled in
the web and then a bird. A mouse also joins the party.
When the eight-legged beast reaches the woman's head, it
appears as if the lady is standing beside a stuffed moose
head. But we turn the page to discover a real live moose
is now caught in the fun. By the time the spider returns
to the floor, everything from a dinosaur to an octopus has
fallen prey to the spider's web. The pages of this book
are full of color and the watercolor illustrations, by
Kelly, accurately portray the song’s vocabulary. The song
is performed by Raffi in a slow yet energetic manner.
Raffi includes the musical score on the last page. This
book and song can be used during a body-parts unit to
teach young children (preschool-first grade) some of the
body parts. A fun activity to do with students would have
them pretend there is a spider on their body and have them
act out the song by touching each body part that is being
sung about.
Raffi.
(1999). Down by the bay.(B. Wescott, Illus.). New
York: Crown Publishers.
Raffi
(1996). Down by the bay. On Singable songs for the very
young [CD]. Rounder/PGD.
Down by the Bay is an entertaining
story about a mother who asks her two children if they
have seen certain odd things down by the bay. Raffi has
created a catchy tune that makes learning and singing this
song an enjoyable experience. Music notation and lyrics
(melody line, with chords) are included at the end of the
book. Down by the Bay tells about two young friends
who match wits to come up with the most outrageous rhymes:
``Did you ever see a goose kissing a moose?'' ``Did you
ever see llamas eating their pajamas?'' The illustrations,
by Wescott, nicely depict the zany song-lyrics. One
activity that teachers can do with this song is to have
the students illustrate each odd thing they see by the
bay. For example, they can draw a "whale with a polka
dotted tail" and hold it up when that part of the song is
sung. Advanced students will want to make up their own
rhymes.
Raffi.
(1998). Wheels on the bus. New York: Crown Books
for Young Readers.
Raffi
(1996). Wheels on the bus. On Rise and shine [CD].
Rounder/PGD.
Wheels on the Bus is a story about a
bus that travels through a town and the sounds that are
heard during the journey. The song is performed by Raffi
with a gentle tempo that allows young ESL students to
follow along with the book. The book’s pictures nicely
illustrate the song-lyrics in a colorful way. This song
and book can be used with a transportation unit. An
activity would have the students illustrate the objects
that are described in the song. For example, they can
create a wheel, a horn, and a baby and hold it up during
the appropriate time of the song.
Raffi.
(1997). Baby Beluga. New York: Crown Books for
Young Readers.
Raffi
(1996). Baby beluga. On Baby beluga [CD]. Rounder/PGD.
Baby Beluga is an enjoyable song about
a white baby beluga whale, written and performed by Raffi,
a famous performer of children’s songs. The story of Baby
Beluga also tells about the interdependence of all life on
Earth, and of the importance of preserving the
environment. This book and song can be used with grades
K-3. The song has a catchy tune and is a lot of fun to
sing. The singer’s pronunciation is clear and the tempo is
slow enough for beginning ESL students’ to follow. The
pictures are filled with many colors but do not illustrate
some of the vocabulary. The book and song can be used to
teach about the beluga whale, a sea unit, and even a unit
on the North Pole.
Raffi.
(1990). Shake my sillies out. (D. Allender,
Illus.). New York: Crown Books.
Raffi
(2001). Shake my sillies out. On Country goes Raffi
[CD]. Rounder/PGD.
Shake My Sillies Out is an energetic
song about getting up and shaking your sillies out. The
title page to Shake My Sillies Out warns that ``silly
animals'' are lurking in the Mariposa forest. As night
settles over the woodlands, the animals appear and begin
clapping their crazies out, jumping their jiggles out and
wiggling their wagglies away. The animals “shake their
sillies out'' in some attempt to get to sleep. They
overrun nearby Camp Mariposa and are happily cavorting
with the campers until everyone tires and goes to sleep.
The story is colorfully illustrated and depicts Raffi’s
lyrics nicely. Allender's large, simple shapes and
brilliant colors create vivid images for the song that
begs to be sung and shaken and jumped and clapped. Melody
line and chords are also provided. This story can be used
with students in Kindergarten and up to the second grade.
They can learn the lyrics, and once they feel comfortable,
they can do the clapping, jumping, and shaking that Raffi
is singing about. A teacher could integrate this song into
a Physical Education unit on body movement or just
incorporate it into the warm-up or stretch portions of
your P.E. program.
Seeger,
P. (1998). This land is your land: A tribute to Woody
Guthrie (with CD). (K. Jakobsen, Illus.). New York:
Little Brown and Company.
The book and CD set are a tribute the late
Woody Guthrie, including lyrics, musical notation, a
biographical scrapbook, and a message from friend and
fellow folk-singer Pete Seeger. Guthrie’s anthem is
wonderfully illustrated by acclaimed artist Kathy Jakobsen.
Each double page spread includes two lines of the song and
depicts Gutherie as a wandering troubadour who sees
cities, valleys, prairies, beaches, deserts, and redwood
forests: the land that was "made for you and me." The song
is performed in a medium-slow tempo that allows students
to easily follow along. But, Guthrie’s folk-style singing
can distort the pronunciation of certain vocabulary and
distract some learners. The Guthrie tribute is appropriate
for a range of students from the first through eighth
grades. The book and song combination can be used for a
simple patriotic lesson or an entire unit on America. The
book can also be used with a lesson on verbs. The students
can choose a verb from the song and illustrate it. Then,
as the song plays again and the students hear their verb,
they physically act-out the verb as they have illustrated
it.
Thiele,
B. & Weiss, G. (1995). What a wonderful world. (A.
Bryan, Illus.). New York: Atheneum Books for Young
Readers.
Armstrong, L. (1994). What a wonderful world. On
All-time greatest hits. MCA.
What a Wonderful World based on the
popular song recorded by Louis Armstrong, portrays a
utopian world of racial harmony and collaboration. As
Armstrong sings,``I hear babies cry, I watch them grow.
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know, and I think
to myself, “what a wonderful world,'" Bryan illustrates
the lyrics by means of a puppet show performed by a
cross-cultural group of children and a smiling black man
with a trumpet. Bryan's palette of warm, vibrant colors
reiterate the theme of sharing and love for the diverse
world in which we live. But, even while following the
lyrics, the images don't tell a coherent story. The tempo
of the song is slow, yet Armstrong’s stylized singing may
be confusing for beginning ESL students. The book and song
combination are appropriate for grades Kindergarten
through eight. This book and song combination can be used
to teach about colors as well as the ethnic diversity of
out nation. Teachers could have younger students draw
various objects using the colors as described in the song.
Or, more advanced students can create their own puppet
show, reflecting their own ethnic diversity.
Winter,
J. (1988). Follow the drinking gourd (with video).
New York: Random House.
Follow the Drinking Gourd is a book
about the early days of slavery. It tells how an old white
sailor named Peg Leg Joe would hire himself out to
plantation owners in order to help slaves to freedom. He
would teach the slaves a seemingly harmless folk song
titled "Follow the Drinking Gourd" but hidden within the
lyrics were directions to the escape route known as the
Underground Railroad. The story follows a couple, their
son, and two others who make their escape by following the
song's directions. The book is illustrated with many
details that depict slavery in the mid-1840s. The
illustrations are dramatic with bold colors and done in a
flat two-dimensional “primitive” style. The singer
performs with a southern accent which elongates some of
the words. The Follow the Drinking Gourd song is
embedded within the story so following along maybe a bit
difficult. This story should be used with upper grade
students during a slavery unit. While the illustrations
and text make this part of U.S. history accessible to
young readers, its emphasis on the role that white people
played in the black flight to freedom make it an
unbalanced introduction.
Songbooks, Poetry, and
Rhymes
Bates, K.
& Boyers, S. J. (1994). O beautiful for spacious skies.
(W. Thiebaud, Illus.). San Francisco: Chronicle Books.
O Beautiful for Spacious Skies is a
book that illustrates the traditional patriotic song
“America the Beautiful.” It is an esoteric mix of 19th
poetry and contemporary images. In the more familiar first
verse, Thiebaud's expressionist landscapes complement
Bates’ lyrics, “spacious skies,” “amber waves of grain,”
and “purple mountain majesties.” But subsequent verses, as
with “O beautiful for Pilgrim feet...” are somewhat
compromised by genre images of high-heels and wingtips.
While important to American culture, some of the
vocabulary is antiquated and may be impractical for most
second language learners. Since the imagery doesn’t match
the lyrics, comprehending the vocabulary through the
illustrations will be challenging. The book is appropriate
for students in grades five and up.
Belafonte, H. & Burgess, L. (1956). Island in the sun.
New York: (A. Ayliffe, Illus.). Penguin Putnam.
The book, Island in the Sun,
beautifully illustrates Harry Belafonte’s “Calypso Song.”
Ayliffe's primitive-style images, in brilliant colors,
portray the island life of Belafonte’s homeland, Jamaica.
Each four-line verse describes an aspect of life there,
followed by the chorus which sings praises of its beauty.
The illustrations depict a hardworking people. Men in
straw hats gather coconuts and haul them to a busy
colorful market. A woman cuts long brown stalks of sugar
cane for her family and a fisherman casts his net into the
Carribean Sea. But there is also time for fun: everyone
celebrates Carnival and dances the night away. The images
are alive with activity and directly related to the text.
These materials can be used for a culture unit dealing
with island life, appropriate for the upper grades and
students who have a high level of English language
proficiency. Piano music and the song lyrics are included.
Berry, H.
(Illus.). (1997). Old MacDonald had a farm. New
York: North-South Books.
In Berry’s new rendition of the traditional
song, “Old MacDonald,” the farm animals all play musical
instruments. As each animal is named in a verse of the
familiar song, the farmer provides it with a musical
instrument. The pig plays banjo, the cow plays bass, and
the donkey plays an old-fashioned washboard. When all of
the animals and instruments are assembled, the action
culminates in a raucous jamboree. Each page is filled with
Berry’s watercolor and pencil illustrations for each of
the animals, the lyrics to a verse, and the EIEIO refrain,
highlighted in bold type. Old MacDonald had a Farm
can be used with young English language learners from
Kindergarten on up. These are perfect materials to use
when teaching units on animals or the farm.
Brett, J.
(Illus.). (1997). The twelve days of Christmas. New
York: Penguin Putnam Books.
The Twelve Days of Christmas is a
beautifully illustrated book that depicts the lyrics to
the traditional Christmas carol. But, Brett’s lavish
illustrations portray multiple story lines for the already
complex chronicle of gifts. The center panels depict the
familiar song while the side panels tell a story of a
young couple and their family finding and decorating their
holiday tree. A menagerie of animals carry banners that
say “Merry Christmas” in twelve languages. Some of the
vocabulary may be difficult for younger students or those
who are at a lower level of English language development.
This book can be used with any Twelve Days of Christmas
song that uses the traditional lyrics. It could be used
during a Christmas holiday unit or just for fun during the
holiday season.
Capucilli,
A. S. (1995). Inside a barn in the country. New
York: Scholastic.
Inside a Barn in the Country is an
entertaining song about the animals that live in a barn in
the country and what they do. The song describes a series
of events much like the nursery rhyme, There was an Old
Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. For example, a mouse in the hay
squeaks and wakes up a horse that says neigh, and so on.
Colorful cartoon-caricatures of the animals accumulate on
pages of this book, beginning with the mouse and ending
with a total of 10 creatures. Each page of text includes
the animal sounds a full-page illustration of the action.
All of the characters are bug-eyed with mouths open, amid
the chaos. When all their noises finally wake the farmer,
he tells them to go back to sleep. This book can be used
during a farm or animal unit. It can be used with ELD
Kindergartners and up to third graders. For an activity,
the teacher can divide the class into groups according to
the 10 animals in the story. Then, each student in a
particular group will make puppets that demonstrate what
the animal does in the story. As the song is replayed,
each group stands and holds up their puppets making the
sounds that their animals make during that part of the
story.
Muller,
R. (1994). Hickory, dickory, dock. (S. Duranceau,
Illus.). New York: Scholastic.
The book Hickory, Dickory, Dock is a
contemporary version of the original 12-stanza children’s
rhyme. Duranceau’s images are an odd mix of realistically
rendered but anthropomorphized creatures with surreal,
Dali-inspired details such as melting watches. The animals
have come together for some undetermined celebration. The
cat hides a mouse-shaped clock, and a goat, sheep, wolf,
and mouse search for it while a monkey tries to serve tea
and pastries. Mayhem ensues as the animals bounce about in
their search. The hidden clock is broken and then mended,
much to the relief of the little mouse who has fallen in
love with it. Clocks abound in the detailed illustrations.
Each page is so full of pictures that making connections
to the vocabulary can be difficult. The teacher may want
to point to the illustrations while listening to the story
to help the students better understand the vocabulary.
This book is ideally suited for a lesson unit about time.
The illustrations on each page show the time to the hour
as described in the text. The book can also be used for
upper grades levels when studying past tense verbs.
Rynbach,
I. (1995). Five little pumpkins. Honesdale, PA:
Boyds Mills Press.
The favorite counting rhyme, re-told every
Halloween, is presented here in humorous watercolor and
ink illustrations that evoke the autumn season. The scene
is Halloween night in the country and the evening begins
with five not-so-little pumpkins sitting on a gate. As two
smiling witches, a clown, a ghost, and a devil go
trick-or-treating, the five pumpkins follow along. The
ensemble visit three old Victorian houses, one with a
skeleton doorman and witches and ghosts looking out every
window. When it’s time for the children to go home, the
five little pumpkins “go rolling out of sight.” This story
can be used with students in grades K-3. It can be used
for a fun Halloween lesson about numbers or rhyming words.
A follow-up activity would have the students come up with
five other things besides pumpkins such as ghosts or
scarecrows. The students can then illustrate their own
book following the original story but using their own
characters.
Sendak,
M. (1990). Pierre: A cautionary tale in five chapters
and prologue. New York: Harper Collins Children’s
Books.
The story of Pierre is about a young boy who
just does not care. He answers all questions with the same
reply, "I don’t care." Because Pierre does not care about
anything, a lion comes and eats him up. The book’s
illustrations are very simple, not very detailed, and do
not depict a lot of the vocabulary. The vocabulary is also
somewhat simple. This story can be used with advanced ELD
students in the second grade and students in all other
grade levels. It is not recommended for beginners. An
activity for this story would have the students work in
groups of five with each student in a group choosing a
character from the story. Then, each group can perform the
story like a play.
Shaw, N.
(1988). Sheep in a jeep. (M. Apple, Illus.).
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.
The story, Sheep in a Jeep, is about
five sheep driving a jeep and the things that go wrong
because there are too many sheep in the jeep. The story is
told with very few words (sheep, jeep, thud, mud, heap,
cheap, beep). The pencil and color illustrations are
simple and help to make the vocabulary understandable.
This book can be used with ELD first graders on up to
fourth graders. The story can be used during a farm or
animal unit or a “working-together” unit. The story also
can be used when teaching verbs. An activity would have
the students identify the verbs in the story and
illustrate them. For a challenge, the students can come up
with an additional verb to fit their original sentences
and also illustrate that verb.
Smith, W.
(2000). Just the two of us. New York: Scholastic.
With a few changes, Will Smith has transformed
the lyrics of his 1997 song, “Just the Two of Us,” into a
wonderful book for youngsters. A man raps with his son:
"Just the two of us...building castles in the sky...just
the two of us...you and I." The refrain appears as a
chorus in this rap, which tenderly reveals a father's
feelings at his son's birth and as the child grows to be a
young man. The man's hopes for his son's future along with
his commitment to love, discipline, and providing advise
as best he can. The text does not always scan well or
rhyme precisely, but the words are expressive; and convey
the sense of a parent's love and care. The text scans
best with Smith's rap delivery. The text, set in different
fonts and sizes, is strikingly spaced on each double-page
spread. It is coupled with moving pencil-and-oil
illustrations of a father lifting his son toward the sky,
playing basketball with him, and father and mature son in
thoughtful conversation on a beach at sunset. Many of the
stunning images are set against a blue sky and evoke an
atmosphere of spaciousness and freedom. The vocabulary is
advanced and not well illustrated. The song and book
combination is most appropriate for upper grade students.
It would be most appropriate to use when instructing
students about the family unit, Father’s Day, or emotions
and relationships.
Spier, P.
(Illus.). (1973). The Star Spangled Banner. Garden
City: Doubleday and Company.
The book, The Star Spangled Banner,
illustrates three verses of our national anthem. Spier's
artwork depicts the battle of Fort McHenry during the War
of 1812, "the dawn's early light" and "the rocket's red
glare" with remarkable authenticity and detail. More
contemporary images of national monuments and marching
bands are also depicted. A reproduction of Francis Scott
Key's original manuscript and music for guitar and piano
are included. The books is appropriate for a thematic unit
on the United States or a patriotic holiday. An activity
that can be used with this song is to have the class work
together to make a large United States flag. Students can
trace their hands on red, white, and blue construction
paper and cut out the shapes. Then, they can stand
together, in their appropriate positions, to form the
flag.
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Special
thanks to Dr. Craig Saito for editing this report. |
