10 Picture Books You Can Sing

Singing is one of the five foundational practices that help lay the groundwork for learning to read. Singing helps children hear the rhythm of speech/song and helps them hear how longer words can be broken down into smaller sounds. It is also just plain fun and a great way to make your read-alouds more engaging for you and your child.

There are dozens (hundreds?) of books you can sing, so to list as many of our favorites as possible, we’ve broken them down into categories.

Books You Can Sing to a Familiar Tune

Some books weren’t written to be sung, but their rhyme scheme fits perfectly with a song you already know.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Bill Martin, Jr., illustrated by Eric Carle – sing to “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep”

One Is a Drummer by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Grace Lin – sing to “Twinkle, Twinkle”

Wiggle by Doreen Cronin – sing to “Do Your Ears Hang Low”

Books with Their Own Tune

For these, you may need to go to YouTube to hear the tune… or just make up your own!

I Got Two Dogs by John Lithgow, illustrated by Robert Neubecker

This book includes a CD so you can hear John Lithgow’s version of the song!

Sing-Along Song by JoAnn Early Macken, illustrated by LeUyen Pham

Let’s Sing a Lullaby with the Brave Cowboy by Jan Thomas

Less-Familiar Favorites

These are picture book adaptations of real songs that you may not know, but are absolutely worth learning. Some have the sheet music included, or you can find the tune on YouTube.