Tuesday book club today will not highlight a specific book, but rather, give ideas on how I use Folk Song Books within my classroom.
There are many great books that tell the story of an old ballad passed down from generation to generation. I love to SING the story first and let the students really listen and imagine what is happening. I then tend to read a few versions of the story over the course of a few months to get different authors/ illustrators ideas about what the song should look like.
Great examples of songs that have been made into books numerous times include:
There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a FLY (or other silly things). This is a great on for holidays because so many versions have been made. See my blog post all bout "Old Woman" books here!
Fiddle-I-Fee - Each version is slightly different and the pictures can give you a new way to think about the song/ story that is being told.
Hush Little Baby- My favorite is when the big sister pushes the cradle which starts the process of the whole song. By the end EVERYONE is asleep because they have been so busy trying to get baby to quiet down.
Other great folk song books include: the John Fierabend versions of My Aunt Came Back and The Crab Fish (these come with CDs so they are great for subs), Senior Don Gato (my students LOVE this story), She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain, This Old Man, and MANY MANY others.
Sometimes I sing the song and have the students illustrate or describe to me what they imagine. In older grades we may have groups make their own version and accompany themselves on dulcimer. These story books are a great way to introduce students to the songs of our culture that are probably too advanced for them to fully understand every note and rhythm, BUT are a great story for them to listen and be exposed to.
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