Plano Reads: Music

Fa-la-la-la-la! It’s time to sing along to all your old (and new) favorites with our final trip to the farm and another book list, this time with some of our favorite musical stories.

Whether you’re looking to sing along to a favorite song or learn something about musical instruments, this book list has something for everyone to enjoy.

This Saturday on our “Saturday Stories on the Farmstead” we are at the Heritage Farmstead Museum in Plano, Texas to have a storytime about music! Be sure to check our Facebook page at 10:30 a.m. on December 19 for the premiere. Check out our teaser below!

Whether you’re looking for a story to share or to learn something new, this list has you covered. You can see the books below and place them on hold in our catalog.

Board Books

Note: Board books are unavailable for holds requests. To check out these titles, you’ll need to come to a library and grab it from the display. The catalog link will show you where the book is available.

The Whales on the Bus by Katrina Charman Request
Set to the familiar tune, text and illustrations follow animals on various vehicles, including a tiger in a glider doing loop-the-loops and goats on boats singing yo, ho, ho all day long.

Sing music and lyrics by Joe Raposo Request
Rhyming text describes the many different types of music and how people have enjoyed it from the beginning of time.

We Are Music by Brandon Stosuy Request
Baby Pig Pig’s mother teaches him the sounds that other animals make.

Music! by Carol Thompson Request
We’re amazing! We can make music, dress up, sing and dance. There’s nobody quite like us!

Picture Books

Giraffes Can’t Dance by Giles Andreae Request
Gerald the giraffe is too clumsy to dance with all the other animals at the Jungle Dance, until he finds the right music.

This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt Request
Presents an introduction to jazz music and nine well-known jazz musicians, set to the rhythm of the traditional song, “This Old Man.” Includes brief facts about each musician.

Olivia Forms a Band by Ian Falconer Request
When Olivia learns that there will be no band at the evening’s fireworks display, she decides to form one of her own, with herself as the only musician and some rather unusual instruments.

I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello by Barbara Garriel Request
An adaptation of the folk rhyme “There was an old woman who swallowed a fly,” featuring musical instruments.

Punk Farm by Jarrett Krosoczka Request
At the end of the day, while Farmer Joe gets ready for bed, his animals tune their instruments to perform in a big concert as a rock band called Punk Farm.

All You Need Is Love by John Lennon and Paul McCartney Request
Illustrations and easy-to-read text share John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s world-renowned song that celebrates the love that surrounds us.

Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault Request
Unable to sleep on the night of a full moon, a young boy follows the sound of music across the fields and finds an unusual barn dance in progress.

Mole Music by David McPhail Request
Feeling that something is missing in his simple life, Mole acquires a violin and learns to make beautiful, joyful music.

Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin by Lloyd Moss Request
Ten instruments take their parts one by one in a musical performance.

Wheels on the Bus by Raffi Request
As the rickety old bus collects an odd assortment of passengers in a quaint little town, the reader may join in with the sounds of the bus and motions of the driver and passengers.

Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka Request
Introduces the famous saxophonist and his style of jazz known as bebop.

Passing the Music Down by Sarah Sullivan Request
A boy and his family befriend a country fiddler, who teaches the boy all about playing the old tunes, which the boy promises to help keep alive. Inspired by Melvin Wine and Jake Krack.

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler Request
Baby and his family make some jazzy music.

Junior Fiction

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis Request
Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father–the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids.

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes Request
Garvey’s father has always wanted Garvey to be athletic, but Garvey is interested in astronomy, science fiction, reading–anything but sports. Feeling like a failure, he comforts himself with food. Garvey is kind, funny, smart, a loyal friend, and he is also overweight, teased by bullies, and lonely. When his only friend encourages him to join the school chorus, Garvey’s life changes. The chorus finds a new soloist in Garvey, and through chorus, Garvey finds a way to accept himself, and a way to finally reach his distant father–by speaking the language of music instead of the language of sports.

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan Request
A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family’s vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school. After her local mosque if vandalized, she is devastated. Her friend Soojin is talking about changing her name. Does Amina need to become more “American” and hide who she really is?

The Sweetest Sound by Sherri Winston Request
Shy ten-year-old Cadence grapples with an overprotective father, a mother who’s skipped town to pursue stardom, and what to do when a recording of her amazing voice leaks before she’s ready to share it with the world.

Junior Non-Fiction

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews Request
Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six, and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle Request
Looks at the life and accomplishments of Teresa Carreño, one of the world’s most famous pianists who, by age nine, performed for President Abraham Lincoln at the White House.

Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood Request
The extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.

The Story of the Incredible Orchestra by Bruce Koscielniak Request
Describes the orchestra, the families of instruments of which it is made, and the individual instruments in each family.

Becoming Bach by Thomas Leonard Request
Highlights the life and achievements of the eighteenth-century German composer and musician, and examines the development of his most important compositions.

Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker by Patricia Hruby Powell Request
n exuberant verse and stirring pictures, Patricia Hruby Powell and Christian Robinson create an extraordinary portrait for young people of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world.

The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori and the Invention of the Piano by Elizabeth Rusch Request
Award-winning biographer Elizabeth Rusch and two-time Caldecott Honor recipient Marjorie Priceman team up to tell the inspiring story of the invention of the worlds most popular instrument: the piano.

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson: The Voice of a Centrury by Pam Muñoz Ryan Request
An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, whose life and career encouraged social change.

Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Weatherford Request
This lyrical picture-book biography of John Coltrane focuses on his childhood and how he interpreted sounds before he made his music.

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Be sure to browse the library catalog online here, and use your library card number and PIN (last four digits of your phone number) to place a hold request.