Songs and Fingerplay Favorites from the Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California
On November 9, 2018, members of ACL shared their favorite storytime “attention- getters,” which are songs and fingerplays that help focus the attention of very young children attending storytime. Thanks to everyone who came and shared their favorites, singing each suggestion to teach it to the rest of us. For new storytime presenters, singing can be intimidating, and it may be difficult to know which songs to present. Listed below are some of our favorites, with links to find them online so you can learn them:
Fun songs:
“Popcorn” by Raffi – www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCthC0-61z4
“Here is the Beehive” – https://kcls.org/content/here-is-a-beehive/
“I Have Ten Fingers and They All Belong to Me” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=teIJUjKnHX0
“If You’re Happy and You Know It” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzW7zt2EUb4
“Wheels on the Bus” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lle38aEc5E
“Everybody Find a Seat” – https://kcls.org/content/everybody-have-a-seat/
“Very Funny Spider” – https://storytimeukulele.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/itsy-bitsy-spider-and-variations/
“Mmm Ahh Went the Little Green Frog” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwU3beZ9kcw
“Wake Up Feet” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3Zh6sikTU
“Everybody Wants to Be a Butterfly” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkbPnaDJeE
“Little Red Caboose” – https://kcls.org/content/little-red-caboose/
“Mr. Frog Jumped Out of the Pond One Day” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nuvg50ZAgo
“Scratch a Friend’s Back” – https://carrypaterson.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/scratch-a-friends-back/
“There’s a Brand New Baby” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCerzlxs-UE
“This Old Road Is Hard and Bumpy” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=SApkmDStph8
“Five Green and Speckled Frogs” – https://kcls.org/content/five-green-and-speckled-frogs/
“You Can’t Make a Turtle Come Out” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrkuSda3Umk
Songs to use with puppet:
“Jack in the Box Jumps Up” – https://kcls.org/content/jack-in-a-box/
“Big Gray Elephant” – https://storytimekatie.com/2012/09/24/elephants/
Lullabies to calm everyone down:
“Tender Shepherd” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP4CK-WplYw
“All the Pretty Little Horses” – https://kcls.org/content/all-the-pretty-little-horses/
“Here Is a Baby Ready for a Nap” – http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=4254
“Little Bunny Sleeping on the Floor” – https://kcls.org/content/look-at-all-the-bunnies/
Calming technique – Taking a deep ocean breath (see yoga books and websites for a demonstration).
Favorite resources for songs and fingerplays:
- Jbrary: https://jbrary.com/
- King County Library System: https://kcls.org/content/
- Jenkins, Ella. This Is the Rhythm. Sing Out Publications, 1993: www.amazon.com/This-Rhythm-Ella-Jenkins/dp/1881322025/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541968638&sr=1-1&keywords=This+is+the+rhythm .
Penny Peck
Part-time Instructor,
San Jose State University iSchool