Books : Song Books #1

There doesn't seem to be many English song books out there.  At least not original ones.  I can find a hundred different books with the typical 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' lyrics and even more with 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes'.  So when I find something new it usually inspires me to write more songs of my own.

Detlev Jöcker is a well known German song writer/singer and has quite a lot of CDs under his belt.  He also compliments his CDs with books that contain the lyrics and guitar chords to his music.

I was given a copy of Start English With a Song many years ago but never thought of looking for a book.  It was only this last year that I came across his books and even found that there was a second English CD/Book from the same artist.

Some of the songs are big hits with my kids.  They love Mini Monsters and all the songs seem to be translations of the German versions so you can sing in both languages.  I have found some small mistakes in the language now and again but then again nobody is perfect.  The book also contains some great ideas for teaching the language (in German) so this is also a great book for teachers who don't speak English as a first language.

I can highly recommend both books just for the songs alone.  The guitar chords and ideas are just a nice bonus.  If you aren't very musical there are CDs that compliment the books but to be honest you really need both to enjoy them properly.

Learning English by Singing is supposed to be for older children but I have used some of the songs with my Kindergarten kids.  So don't be put off by the 'Ab 7 Jahren'.

You can check out Detlev Jöcker's website for more information about his books but I advise buying your copies from Amazon.de or Medimops.  Both have cheaper options for buying the books & CDs.

Do you have any song book recommendations?  Something different or something new?  Please feel free to share your discoveries in the comments section of this post.  They may even be new for me! ;)

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