Rockin' the suburbs

Old McDonald Tune by user9552426

This isn't directly Treblemaker related, but it is musical - and hilarious.  I had some evening meetings for church last week so the husband and WonderGirl put this little ditty together.  They were inspired by this fabulous book Aunt Sarah sent us:

Go to the book website http://www.punkfarm.com for free punk farm song downloads.  Thank you Wisconsin (and Aunt Sarah)!!!


Enjoy!

book review: unplugged play

Unplugged Play: No Batteries. No Plugs. Pure Fun.

Hello summer!!  Do you ever have days where you are scrambling for ideas?  You want to play with the kids but you are just too frazzled to come up with an answer?  Unplugged Play is my lifesaver!  The ideas are great and short - when I'm sitting in the living room and feeling lost, I can literally reach for this book and within 30 seconds be playing a fabulous game that the kids are gaga for.  And with the handy index in the back, you can find dozens of musical play or singing games.  The book says it's for ages 1-10, but I'm an old thirty-something that has a ball with them too.  The book was a gift from my mom (of course!) and not a day goes by that I don't thank my lucky stars for it.  Do you have any go-to parenting books?

On top of spaGHEEEEEEETTI!!!!!

We picked up a copy of On Top Of Spaghetti by Tom Glazer from the local library and it's now topping the charts in Casa Treblemaker.  Who can resist this silly song??  I loved it, and the next generation can't get enough of it.  Our library has the 1982 edition with illustrations by Tom Garcia which I find nifty because on the bottom of every page, it has a treble clef and has the notes written right above the words!

After we sang it about a kajillion times, I asked WonderGirl if she could try and play the melody on the piano and after some disciphering, she got it!  It's nice and simple in C major.  I love that it puts 3 things together that she adores - silly songs, reading and playing the piano.

The 2006 edition is here on Amazon and though the music isn't incorporated on all the pages, it's written out on it's own page - plus it has recipes for tomato sauce and meatballs included.  How awesome is that??  It has something for everyone!  Let me know how it plays in your house!

Nursery Rhyme Jazz : Baby Loves Jazz

One gem about visiting my mom is all of her awesome teaching materials.  Besides all the things she accumulated from teaching elementary music for years, she's also a book junkie and collects absolute keepers.  Baby Loves Jazz is a part of the Baby Loves Music franchise which also runs the Baby Loves Disco events.  And are held no where near me, humph.

The company has so many books and CDs out it's overwhelming, so I'm just going to go with Nursery Rhyme Jazz for now.  The board book is bright, fun and engaging for even my spastic one year old.  The real treat is the accompanying CD that has jazz versions of Hey Diddle Diddle, the Itsy Bitsy Spider and others - and they are actually really good.;  Not your typical kiddie music that makes us parents slightly nauseous but we play it anyway because our kids enjoy it - this is something all ages can enjoy.  We played it in the car for days and sang along the whole time (so I'm including this under the Living Room Dance Party tag... those can happen in cars too!).  We also especially enjoyed Ella Elephant Scats Like That and I'll get around to a review at some point.  Check out the whole line, and tell me what your favorite is!

Music Class

Music Class, illustrated by Amanda Haley

I stumbled on this book in the early reader section of our library a few weeks ago.  It's a rhyming story of a class of children coming together to a violin class - and tells each step, from opening to closing their cases.  WonderGirl loved it - as it was an easy read as well as fun.  The only downside is - look at that picture - every picture is of the violin held exactly opposite of how it should be!  The upside is WG pointed it out herself and we had a lovely discussion of how it is supposed to be held.  Win-win!  The book says it's a Level 3, 7-8 year old level, but a new reader shouldn't have a problem with it.  Find it here on Amazon or check it out at your local library.  Happy reading!

The Worst Band In The Universe: A Totally Cosmic Musical Adventure

The Worst Band In The Universe: A Totally Cosmic Musical Adventure by Graeme Base is a feast of a book. Visually, it blows your mind.  The whole story is told in a rhyme that dances off the tongue, despite all the wacky words Base invents to tell his tale (Sprocc, splitwanger, Blippian, groob).  There is even an accompanying CD with songs from the Worst Band In The Universe contest participants that is rockin', kid friendly and insanely catchy.

The story tells of a part of the universe where music is regulated - no one can change the ancient tunes, or write their own.  Young Sprocc searches for a place where he can "mesh" with other like-minded musicians and finds it at the Worst Band In The Universe contest - because in a world where there's little to no music, who wants to be the best??  It ends happily and dances along the way.  Last night after WonderGirl and I read it again, the reality of no one being allowed to make new music got to her.  She was horrified, and in protest, jumped up and announced she was going to create HER own music, and stood at the piano singing and composing for a good 15 minutes.  AWESOME.  Added bonus?  The songs are perfect for a Living Room Dance Party too!

Wee Sing and Lean ABC

I LOVE this book and CD!  Besides the obvious awesomeness of another ABC book, this also showcases a TON of instruments.  From "Abe the alligator plays the accordion" to "Zelda the zebra plays the zither" it covers just about every animal and instrument there are.  It's a large board book so it's easy for small hands to manage and there a lots of neat details for a older kid.  The CD has a short song about each letter and plays its accompanying instrument.  Great for shorter attention spans, and an awesome CD for the car.  It sparks lots of discussions about how each instrument is played, plus it's easy to sing along with.  You can find Wee Sing & Learn ABC book and CD here on Amazon.

The Philharmonic Gets Dressed

Back when I was in college, one of my students gave me this book for Christmas.  I'm glad I hung onto it because 13 years later, my daughter loves it!  This book is exactly what the title says - the ninety-two men and thirteen women of the  New York Philharmonic getting dressed for a performance.  It shows the different ways they bathe, don their concert black, travel (the brass guys use the subway, the conductor has a limo:) and come together at Philharmonic Hall to become one musical unit.  

It takes me back to my own orchestra days, and WonderGirl loves to pour over the details on the pages and point out all the differences in the way each musician does the same thing.  Check your local library for The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuzkin, illustrated by Marc Simont and tell me what you think!

Howard's Screechy Violin

My heart skipped a beat when I saw this book in the store a few years ago.  I not-so-secretly would LOVE my kids to choose to play the violin, and not-so-secretly share my propaganda with them at every occasion, so a book about a kid playing violin (on sale, even)??  I bought this so fast my credit card was a-smokin'.

The story is so fantastic - a boy wants to play the violin and practices at home, but the screeching and squawking drove his family and neighbors crazy.  After a while, they had a family meeting, decided if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, and they all picked up an instrument of their own and started a family band.

How awesome is that??  Especially because I also not-so-secretly want to start a band with our whole family and all be rockstars together.  It's published by Fischer Price and is a Grade 3 level book (although WonderGirl does a pretty good job reading it herself, and she's reading around a 1st grade level).  You can find it here on Amazon for a$.01 and up.  Score!

I have LOADS of favorite music-y books to share with y'all (I'm kind of a junkie), but I'd also love to hear what you have.  What music type books do you love to share with your kids?