Catfish Kate and the Sweet Swamp Band by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Elwood H. Smith

PreK-2. A rhythmic text that begs to be a part of a musical storytime, this story features Catfish Kate and her all girl band. Skink and his Skunktail Boys demand peace and quiet so they can read and so follows the battle underneath the moon to see what will prevail: music or silence? Luckily the two warring groups find a compromise in the cattails found around the swamp.

The added fun with this book is the opportunity to make up your own tune!

The Deaf Musicians by Pete Seeger and Paul Dubois Jacobs, illustrations by R. Gregory Christie

Lee is a piano player in a jazz band. When his bandmates notice that Lee is missing his solos and off the beat they kick him out of the band. On the subway, Lee sees a poster for a school for the deaf. There he learns sign language and meets other musicians. They jam on the subway and even get a singer, a sign-language interpreter, for their band. The band is a big hit! Lee even runs into his old bandleader who counts himself as a fan!

This is a great book for print recognition. This would be great in storytime, it begs to be performed outloud!

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Seeger, P. & Jacobs, P. D. (2006). The deaf musicians. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons.