Frog Trouble
by Sandra Boynton & Mike Ford
E Boy
Curriculum Collection, Juv Easy Books, 2nd floor
Being privy to the back forty of Andersen Library, I have the opportunity to stumble upon and over carts of new items in their last stages of processing. I am always glad to see a cart of items destined for the Children’s Collections. Since these items bypass the New Arrivals island, it’s easy to miss these treats, which, like this item are not exclusively for kids; as the cover of this Tuesday feature proclaims, “For ages one to older than dirt.”
Frog Trouble and Eleven Other Pretty Serious Songs is one of those treasures. You may be familiar with Sandra Boynton the illustrator and author. Along with Mike Ford, Canadian educator and musician, she is also the songwriter of this fine collection of cowboy-inspired songs that accompany the picture book. If you have ever been caught in a Conestoga wagon with a three-year-old and her currently favorite children’s music CD, you are aware of the importance of cultivating an appreciation for adult-friendly performers. For this collection, Boynton called on the collaboration of artists from Brad Paisley to Kacey Musgraves, and Mike Ford performs on the title track along with his appropriately named group for the project, the Falls Mountain Cowboys. The accompanying picture book includes everything from song lyrics, to line dance steps, to origami frog instructions and mini-biographies of the performers – plenty to keep an ornery chickabiddy from becoming cross-grained on a long road trip. (If you need to brush up on your Western slang, follow those links to the Legends of America lexicon.)
If you just happen to be looking for more children’s music and picture books that are based on children’s songs, try out the live searches on the LibGuide for Elementary School Music Methods or browse our Children’s CD collection on the 2nd floor of the library.
Country music for kids! I’ll have to get this one for our car.