A Little Book of Campfire Songs

by Brian Denington (Illustrator)

Conjure up childhood of singing around the campfire with this nostalgic treasury of Americana, a delightful addition to our best-selling Little Books series that is at once a practical music book and a charming gift. A Little Book of Campfire Songs contains the chord notations and lyrics for over 25, traditional songs drawn from regions throughout the United States, each accompanied by an evocative, full-color illustration. From such favorites as America, This Land is Your Land, Home on the Range, Red River Valley and I Ôve Been Working on the Railroad to Old MacDonald, Clementine, O Susannah, and Li'l Liza Jane, these songs are perfect for gatherings with family or friends or for tossing into a backpack.

Genres: Music

60 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Rick Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pocket-sized collection of traditional American folk songs that are popular for around-the-campfire singalongs. I knew about three fourths of the songs, although most of them from settings other than singing around the campfire in my Boy Scout days. Perhaps the Boy Scouts march to the beat of a different songbook.

I was a bit disappointed to see that the songs are uncredited, even though the writers of many of them are known. Music is included, although I'm not sure how useful it is given the small print size. I'm not a musician myself, so I was more interested in the lyrics. there were many familiar songs here, and some that I had not heard of before. For many familiar songs, this book provided lyrics to verses beyond what i new, although in some cases (such as This Land Is Your Land) key verses were cut.

Brian Denington's illustrations are lovely, although the pocket-sized book fails to do them justice.

This was a fun quick read and a bit of a walk down memory lane, but I felt it could have been done better.