Sing…Sing a Song

There’s an abundance of picture books created from songs.  While some don’t quite make it as a satisfying read aloud, there are quite a few that make fine picture books.  I’ve found that my favorites either come from a story-song or expand the song in some fashion. 

Will Hillenbrand has created two of my favorite song-to-text picture books: Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush and Down by the Station.  Hillenbrand has created new lyrics for Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush, resulting in a delightful “first day of school” book from the perspective of a nervous young pig. We see the piglets hanging up their hats, building with blocks, playing outside, enjoying snacktime, cleaning up messes at the end of the day, and greeting his parents at the end of the day.  The reluctant piglet starts off the day by wondering how many hours until the school day is done, feeling alone at recess, eventually joining in the fun, and having a blast until “[Now] it’s time to say good-bye, say good-bye, say good-bye. My first day has made me one happy guy. I’ll see you tomorrow at school!” The illustrations feature piglets of varying colors and even includes a piglet in a wheelchair. The girl piglets are in dresses and the boy piglets are in overalls. Honestly, though, how else would you differentiate the piglets? This is a great read aloud for a “first day of school” storytime.

Down by the Station features zoo baby animals on the way to the children’s zoo via the train (good way to introduce the proper names of baby animals: calf is a baby elephant, pup is a baby seal, etc).

The illustrations are cute enough to melt the heart of the most jaded children’s librarian. The babies are waiting with their parents; some babies, like the calf, look excited to go, while the panda cub is clinging to its blanket and appears rather reluctant. On the other hand, the seal pup’s parents look rather worried, while the mama elephant is so excited that she’s holding a stop sign, lest the train pass them by. The refrain ” off we go” invites audience participation, should you choose to do so.

Everyone knows the story of the “Eensy-Weensy Spider.” Went up the water spout, fell down when the rain came down, and crawled up again when the sun came out. While I’ve seen some cute board books of the rhyme, Mary Ann Hoberman has taken the song much further.   After we witness the spider’s initial mishap and recovery, we see her playing in the springtime, meeting a baby bug, swimming in the pool, and enjoying other activities and getting into other mishaps.  Here’s an example of one of my favorite scenes:

“The eensy-weensy spider fell down and scraped her knees.

‘Ouch!’ cried the spider. ‘I need some Band-Aids please!’

‘How many?’ asked her mama. ‘I only have a few.’

Said the eensy-weensy spider, ‘Six of them will do.’ “

Hoberman obviously knows the obsession many children have with Band-Aids….very clever.

It’s a new day at the end of the story:

“The eensy-weensy spider slept right through the night.

When she awoke, the sun was shining bright.

‘Good,’ said the spider, ‘there isn’t any rain.

And the eensy-weensy spider went up the spout again.”

And we come full circle!

If you’re looking for a story to include in a colors storytime or an animal sounds storytime, consider Little White Duck, illustrated by Joan Paley. Do you know the song?

“There’s a little white duck sitting in the water

A little white duck doing what he oughter.

He took a bite of the lily pad

Flapped his wings

And he said

‘I’m glad I’m a little white duck sitting in the water. Quack quack!”

Sitting on the lily pad is a little green frog, who jumps off the lily pad and says

” ‘I’m glad I’m a little green frog swimming in the water. Glug glug!”

There’s also a little black bug, who tickles the frog.  Following him is a little red snake, who frightens the duck, the frog, and eats the bug.  So now our little narrator (hmm….a brown mouse?) is all alone, except for his banjo/guitar. “Boo hoo hoo!” Very cute, despite the bug snack. Oh, well….that’s nature.

Fingerplays and action rhymes are easy for this storytime.  I always end my toddler storytime with “Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush,” except I’ve created my own actions (clap our hands, pat our head, brush our teeth, wave goodbye). Of course, doing “Eensy Weensy Spider” would be a great segue into the story.  “5 Little Ducks” would also be a good transition to or from Little White Duck.

Books Mentioned:

Hillenbrand, Will.  Down by the Station.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1999.

Hillenbrand, Will.  Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush.  San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 2003.

Hoberman, Mary Ann.  The Eensy-Weensy Spider.  Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

Whipp, Walt.  Little White Duck.  Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.

Do you have any favorite song-to-text books? Is there a word for this kind of book?