Music has always been a thread that’s connected me to people and events my whole life. It’s a universal language and one that can bring you closer to people. Playing, singing, or listening to music can transport you, keep you in the moment, or change your mood. It’s a love I’ve had all my life, and it helped me meet my husband! I was lucky enough to join his band on tour in our younger days, and many of those experiences have shaped the picture books I’ve made.
I would be remiss not to include this fantastic, concise, beautifully illustrated biography of my favorite band. They influenced my picture book series from color palette choices to little easter eggs.
This book begins with the lads as children, and takes us along the way through their meteoric rise, showing the hard work in Germany and then how they landed a number one in America. This makes for a great inspirational read.
Help your little one dream big with a Little Golden Book biography about one of the greatest bands of all time—The Beatles! Little Golden Book biographies are the perfect introduction to nonfiction for young readers—as well as fans of all ages!
This Little Golden Book about The Beatles—four friends from Liverpool who became the best-selling music act of all time—is an inspiring read-aloud for young children, as well as their parents and grandparents who are fans of the Fab Four. Experience Beatlemania all over again when reading about the band—from their humble beginnings to their unforgettable arrival in the U.S.…
I adore this whole series by Marion Billet. It was hard to pick just one as the classical music, the four seasons, music from around the world, and nutcracker (to name some of the more music-based ones!) are just fantastic. They make babies, toddlers and even older readers react physically to the sound of the music they’re hearing and delight in the bright bold illustrations. They’re a great way to introduce different types of music or instruments.
The rock and roll cats in this book are a particular favorite of mine, as I used to jive regularly in London until our teacher moved away to Nashville! I gifted this book to my two-year-old niece, and even her older sisters would all join in trying out different dance moves to the music. Great fun.
An internationally bestselling series of board books with amazing real-life sounds!
This brand new edition includes replaceable AAA batteries and an exciting 'Look and Find' game on the final page. Press the button, recognise the sounds, then point at the right picture!
What do the tango, Charleston, salsa, rock 'n' roll and hip-hop sound like? Push the buttons to find out!
Aimed at babies and toddlers, this ground-breaking series of interactive board books has a button on every spread, which plays one of five different exceptional quality sound effects. Children of every age will be captivated as they bring the…
This encyclopedia is a brilliant, deeper dive into many instruments. There’s a selection of more unconventional ones from all over the world too. It includes a range of vocal voices and even the computer as an instrument!
Each instrument is given a gloriously characterful illustration of an animal playing it and is accompanied by a description and interesting facts alongside. You can even scan a QR code that links to a short video meaning you can hear the instrument too, so you can listen and learn at the same time.
An interactive introduction to musical instruments with 50 original compositions to listen to―from the kazoo to the bassoon.
What does a double bass or a sitar sound like? What's the difference between bongos and congas? Which instrument has only one note? Which one takes just 30 seconds to learn?
This book engagingly presents 50 common and uncommon musical instruments with practical and curious facts that will spark interest in music of all kinds. Each instrument features a piece of music composed by an award-winning musician, accessed via QR code.
With instruments presented outside conventional categories, the book is open to…
This has to be one of the funniest books about music. I bought it maybe ten years ago or so from the children's bookshop Kinderboekwinkel in Amsterdam. It made me laugh out loud, even though I can’t read or speak Dutch. The illustrations speak for themselves.
Valentijn is a terrible violin player, and after ruining a party for the Queen’s birthday, the townsfolk banish him. He can’t understand why as he thinks he’s great. He performs heroic deeds elsewhere using his playing to help folk, even though it’s terrible. He carries on blissfully unaware and ends up helping a knight in peril and eventually saves the town from invaders and finally performs for the King and Queen, even though everyone has their ears covered.
The illustrations are so lively and energetic, and you can hear how bad the violin must sound from all the reactions of the people and animals he encounters.
A humorous cacophonous picture book by the illustrator of Tom the Tamer. Valentine believes he has a special knack with his violin and he is entirely right--just not in the way he expects. He practices and practices, but he only succeeds in making more noise than music. Audiences at home don't appreciate him and Valentine takes his violin to seek his fortune. As it happens, there are times when Valentine’s peculiar talent can solve particularly pesky problems.
A wonderfully witty picture book. Rhythmic rhyming text along with lines from rock songs scattered throughout for the adult reader to chuckle at, as well as some great animal band puns. The illustrations are packed with humor.
This book shows us how Badger loves noise and wants to find an outlet for it. He tries choirs, recorder orchestras and an ant marching band, but nothing is the right fit. That is until he stumbles upon a flyer for a rock and roll band and he finds his tribe.
It’s a great story about identity and empowerment in a fun way. It will resonate with young readers who probably find they’re told to be still and quiet, when inside they might feel the opposite!
Badger loves to play music, and he decides that he needs somewhere other than the woods to do it. So he sets off in search of the perfect place. Will he find it?
In this energetic story, Badger LOVES playing music--and the louder, the better! But the other animals in the woods don't quite feel the same way, so Badger sets out looking for a new place to jam. He tries taking a recorder class, but he soon discovers that he'd rather improvise than follow the music. And when he joins a marching band, his cowbell is too much to…
In this book,we meet Duck, who has lived on his own for so long that he has gotten a little bit scared to make new friends. He finds it overwhelming. One day a band: Bear, Fox, and Seagull break down on the beach where Duck lives and he gets roped into helping them before he can think of a reason to say no.
They end up playing music and have a great time. Duck thinks about asking them if they would play with him the next day, but he puts himself down, overthinks it, and can’t go through with it. The next day, Seagull gets sick and throws their concert into jeopardy, but Bear knows just who to ask to fill in.
