Fall 97 Class:

Christmas Carols

by Karl Schulte

Published by Whitman Publishing, 1938

This book written by Karl Schulte gives children and adults many different Christmas songs to sing or play. The book is written more towards older children using time and key signatures, as well as note reading.

This book gives perspectives of different cultures and traditions surround Christmas time. A brief history for all songs and the origin of them is given. Children can learn a lot from this book and can appreciate a part of the world most have never seen.

by Jennifer Hedden

Disney For Our Children

This 'CD' is a great one. It is a collection of different children's songs, sung by various popular artists. Some of the songs are popular songs like "Itsy Bitsy Spider", and some of the songs especially towards the end of the CD are ones that may have not been heard before by a child.

I like this 'CD' because it has fun music that is clean. It takes some familiar songs and turns them into upbeat dance music. It is a great way to introduce how music can be varied without the words or meaning being changed.

by Diana Esparza

Disney Sing Along Songs, "The Lion King, Circle of Life"

I like the sing along because the children can see the songs being performed. When they are very young they can enjoy seeing their favorite characters perform songs from their favorite movies and as they get older they can try and read along with the on-screen lyrics as you follow the bouncing ball. I do feel that this is not the only way children should listen to music, they should listen to it by itself without the visual, so children can use their imagination. I think the sing along is well put together and would be enjoyed by children of all ages.

by Lori Carter

Heigh-Ho Mozart

Arrangements by Donald Fraser

Published by Delos International, Inc., Hollywood, CA 1995

DE 3186

Not only do I love classical music, but I am a big fan of Disney music as well. This CD represents the best of both worlds. The songs that comprise of this great CD are all of my favorite Disney tunes in the style of classical composers. The Disney song "Heig-Ho' from the movie Snow White, for example, is transformed into a wonderful classical song in the style of Mozart. Other composer styles that are used include Rachmaninoff, Brahms, R. Strauss, and many more.

I highly recommend this CD for future teachers.

by Wendy Mc Connell

Lion King, The - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Music by Elton John

Lyrics by Tim Rice

Produced by Walt Disney Music Co./ Woodland Music Co.

ISBN 1-55723-597-X

This Walt Disney soundtrack is an exemplary collection of songs. The recording is excellent for children because it contains lively music displaying various types of instruments, especially percussion throughout the songs. The recording also combine the traditional sounds of African music with modern day music. I feel that this recording allows children to appreciate instrumental music because they are able to relate them to scenes from the film that they enjoy.

Overall the music to The Lion King, is a fascinating and a colorful collection of songs, that appeals to children and adults of all ages.

by Judy Esparza

Mickey's Favorite Sing Alongs

by Walt Disney Records

Written by Clarence Kelly and George Sanders

Produced and Published by The Walt Disney Co., Burbank, CA 1995

ISBN 1-55723-962-2

This book and tape consists of 12 songs. Songs that are more appropriate for the younger elementary grades (K-2). The tape is good in that it has children's voices that sing along with the adult voices.

Overall it is a excellent source for the lower grades.

by Lani Hernandez

Muppet Sing Alongs: Billy Bunny's Animal Songs

Produced by Brian Henson, Alex Rockwell, Ritamarie Peruggi

Directed by David Gumpel

Written by Bill Brady, Jim Lewis

Music by Dave Kinnoin

Jim Henson Productions, Inc., Burbank, CA 1993

SKU #7179-5176-2030

Overall, I felt this video was a good musical as well as educational tool for children around the ages of 3-6. Since younger children learn much of what they do through actions connected to words and various parts of the song, the movement of the characters combined with the variety of music should teach children in a positive manner.

The video contained 8 songs plus narration between each musical number, before the first song, an after the last one. While teaching children various types of animals and their functions, the video tends to introduce the children to various styles of music.

The large words on the screen tend to jump around a little more than necessary. Overall though a nice video.

by Shruti Marathe

Scary, Scary Halloween

by Eve Bunting

Illustrations by Jan Brett

Published by Clarion Books, New York, NY 1986

Produced by Brilliance Co., 1989

ISBN 0-89919-414-1

This story along with its song is perfect for Halloween. I believe children will enjoy listening to a story which includes a song that goes with it on Halloween day. Children normally enjoy hearing creepy sounds made by creatures, and such sounds allow them to get in the spirit of Halloween.

I enjoyed the book and tape very much.

by Maria Villarruel

Sesame Street Learn About Music: Big Bird Meets the Orchestra

1993 Children Television Workshop

Characters by Jim Henson 1993

Printed in the USA by Western Publishing Co. Inc., 1993

ISBN 0-307-14426-7

Tape #14426

This Sesame Street book and tape Learn About Music set is very good. I think that it is very appropriate for young kids who are interested in learning about instruments and the orchestra. It is an interesting story and it is easy to follow. The story uses the well know Sesame Street characters that are well known to children and to whom they already relate learning with. This set containing book and tape make a useful combination of listening, reading, and looking at pictures. This will give the child and opportunity to learn about the instrument in different ways.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book and tape. I feel that it is a good learning tool for children and very entertaining as well.

by Jessica Giron

Sesame Street Songbook, The

Featuring songs by: Jeff Moss, Joe Raposo, Christopher Cerf and others

Illustrations by David Prebenna

Published by Macmillan Publishing Co., New York, NY 1992

ISBN 0-02-525141-4

Cal Poly Library Juv. M 1997 S4847 1992

This songbook contains 64 of the songs that have been featured in the television show Sesame Street. It is a collection of some of the favorite songs of adults as well as children. This book is obviously geared towards very young children, as in the television show, in terms of what the songs are about and the type of language used in the songs. The topics of the songs range from colors, to self esteem, to numbers, to family, to rhyming, to counting, to friendship, to animals, to the alphabet, and on and on.

All in all, I think this is a great song book. I think the songs would be fun for children to sing. Not only does it offer many ideas for lesson plans, it offers many ideas for parent-child discussion, which is essential.

by Wendy Totten

World's Best Funny Songs, The

by Ester L. Nelson

Illustrated by Joyce Behr

Published by Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, NY 1988

Although this book is old, you will find that it has a bunch of kids favorite songs. It has over 60 songs that are very easy to locate. It has an index of each song which makes it very convenient. It is a black and white book, but there are pictures. It tells you how the song is to be sung, and in some instances it gives the hand motions that should be used. All of the words are listed to the songs as well as the music. It is packed with music split up into categories like: Oh-Gross, Great Oldies, and Fun to Sing.

Some of the songs are more like camp songs, but there are many others that can be used in the school atmosphere. I would recommend this book, and I look forward to checking out some of Nelson's other works.

by Christie Jeans

Wee Sing Dinosaurs

by Pamela Conn Beall, Susan Hagen Nipp and Nancy Spence Klein

Illustrated by Nancy Spence Klein

Published by Price and Stern Sloan, Inc., New York, NY 1991

ISBN 0-8431-3809-2

This song book is really cute. It is divided into three sections, 1. Dinosaur facts, 2. Dinosaur friend (deals with each type of dinosaur individually) and 3. Dinosaur fun. The different voices and music are upbeat and fit appropriately with the subject matter. The songs have good rhythm and seem fun for children to listen to. It is very informative.

The one thing that I didn't like about the book were its illustrations. They're fine in the fact that they show what the dinosaurs looked like, but they are outlined in a dull brown and there are no other colors. I would recommend this Wee Sing, I think kids would learn a lot from it, and get a kick out of all the songs.

by Kira Shultz