Story books are a very important for children. While there are other resources like sheet music present, story books help the little ones experience a whole new world and push their imagination. Best of all, story books teach kids something new. They also have this magical power that make children want to re-read, re-learn and apply these concepts in their day to day life. Here is what made me start my quest to look for more and more story books on music for children.
Children and Story Books…
I just gifted by 4 year old niece a book with rhyming words and she has read it so many times, I think she remembers it by heart!
Just like that, she was also catching rhyming words in her day to day life. You can explore and buy this book here and moreover, this is a whole series of books, all exploring brand new rhyming words.
So what I’ve done off late is going and looking out for story books showcasing musical concepts. With online teaching, students – and especially the younger ones – need more excitement to be able to learn. It sometimes gets hard to communicate and understand things face to face. Talking to a screen? An absolute nightmare! So getting the world of music to become part of their life through stories, was an exciting idea!
Music and Story Books…
When I started this research, I had only read a handful of such stories. But as I looked deeper and deeper, I stumbled into a field full of treasure! Here are some of my favorite picks:
Before John was a Jazz Giant
Based on the life of the very famous, Mr John Coltrane, this book describes his life before he he was a famous Jazz Musician. In a sweet and simply explained picture book, this story reinforces the importance of listening. Listening to sounds and music around him everywhere led him to be the great name he is today!
88 Instruments
Wouldn’t it be if you could just be surrounded by instruments? You could see how different instruments looked, hear how they sounded and feel how to play them. The little boy in this musical story book did just that till he found the absolute perfect match for himself.
Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin
From a duet, to a trio to a whole Orchestra, this book takes you all the way! Introducing one instrument at a time, this book is exploding with different kinds of music ensembles. Moreover, they are so effectively written with rhyming words that the reader would be left captivated. If used in a music class, there are so many concepts that a teacher can explore which can easily be converted into a 5 class lesson plan for the young ones.
Rhythm Rescue
If the child has already started learning music, and has learnt a little something about rhythm, this is the book for you!
This book is a whole adventure where clapping rhythms can give you superpowers! How will these powers be used? Clap away, open the book and find out! If your child enjoys magic and music, they’ll definitely be picking this book up more than once.
Who was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart?
We know him as a prodigy and an inspiration! Anyone learning to play music, and beyond surely has heard the name Mozart. Though, dear reader, even if you haven’t, we have just the book for you.
While our miraculous Mozart was doing unimaginable things in music, one thing that this book has not forgotten to captured is that he was also just a little boy. A little boy, who was also a genius. That is exactly how this story is told. From young to old, we truly believe that this book is for everyone!