Old MacDonald Had a Farm and other favorite children's songs: Hannah Wood

Book: Old MacDonald Had a Farm and other favorite children's songs
Author: Hannah Wood
Pages: 22
Age Range: 2-5

Old MacDonald Had a Farm (and other favorite children's songs) is a medium sized, lightly padded board book illustrated by Hannah Wood. Each page or page spread has the text of a classic children's song, for a total of 12 songs. Selections include: Old MacDonald Had a Farm (of course); Good Morning to You; Mr. Sun; Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush; Skip to My Lou; I'm A Little Teapot; Do Your Ears Hang Low?; The Farmer in the Dell; Pop! Goes the Weasel; A-Tisket, A-Tasket; The Bear Went Over the Mountain; and Bingo.

No musical notes are included -- you have to know the tunes to sing them aloud with your child. But they are all pretty well-known titles, so I don't think that this is a problem (I don't personally know how to read music anyway, so the scores wouldn't have helped me.) They are all upbeat, kid-friendly choices. And for those parents who are wandering around, half-remembering some of these songs from childhood, seeing the words written down could be quite useful. 

Tiger Tales Press has published a number of other titles in this same, toddler-friendly format, many of them illustrated by Wood. Children familiar with the other titles will easily recognize Wood's kid-friendly style, as well as characters from books like One Sunny Day (a Baby Bookworm favorite). The illustrations are not realistic - they are rendered more as if a (skilled) child had made them, with the huge sun surrounded by yellow lines, and everyone (people and animals) sporting dots for eyes, and wide smiles. But throughout, Wood displays a sense of fun. I'm a Little Teapot is accompanied by a picture of a girl (with smiling teapot) having a tea party with her doll and several apparently animated stuffed animals. Do Your Ears Hang Low? features a sad basset hound (pretty much the only frowning face in the book). Old MacDonald Had a Farm has regular animals, and the farm dog appears to be dancing.

Old MacDonald Had a Farm is not ground-breaking literature. But it is a fun collection of toe-tap-worthy children's songs, with toddler-friendly illustrations, in a sturdy format. Recommended for fans of Wood's illustrations, or anyone who knows the tune but can't quite remember all of the words to The Farmer in the Dell. A nice addition to any toddler's bookshelf. 

Publisher: Tiger Tales (@TigerTalesBooks)
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Source of Book: Review copy from the publisher

© 2012 by Jennifer Robinson of Jen Robinson's Book Page. All rights reserved. This site is an Amazon affiliate, and purchases made through Amazon links may result in my receiving a small commission (at no additional cost to you).