Gonna Sing My Head Off! American Folk Songs for Children

by Kathleen Krull, Arlo Guthrie (Introduction)

"Work songs, love songs, ballads and blues, lullabyies, spirituals, protest

songs, and sheer nonsense make up this entertaining collection of 62

traditional and contemporary favorites. The exuberant illustrations manage to

be both familiar and dramatic and range in tone from comic exaggeration to

understatement and unashamed sentiment. Informal notes at the head of each song

give something about history, origin, performance, and possibilities for

variation. The notes also express the sense of connection with ordinary

people's lives that is at the heart of this collection."—Booklist

(starred)

Genres: Music, Poetry, History, Nonfiction, Childrens

145 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1992

Reviews

[Ch_beverlyatwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my non-print poetry book since it is a collection of American Folk songs for children. I learned so many of these in my childhood days and I still enjoy singing them. The simple piano and guitar music is easy to follow. The pictures are capivating, too. I learned some verses I didn't know. I would use this book to sing in the classroom, to any age children. I think American folk songs are important to learn and not let be forgotten.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of American folk songs for children. The kids and I enjoy the short snippets of background information about each song. The piano arrangements are okay -- simple, playable, and decent-sounding.

My biggest complaint is the layout. Many of the songs are arranged so that you need to flip the page. Why oh why would anyone do that?

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle is: American Folk songs for Children.
This collection of 62 songs also has the musical staffs and chord notes. The songs are illustrated with folksy paintings by Allen Garns. Each song has a brief introductory note, and additional verses. Includes 2 indexes at the back.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of American folk songs for children. She has a small intro for each song and the music is actually playable. She even included some more modern folk like The Motorcycle Song. I would have liked to see Blowin In The Wind but oh well.

[Susan]

Has music, if I ever decide to play guitar at storytime.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm surprised I hadn't heard of most of these