Little Pig Joins the Band by David Hyde Costello. Charlesbridge, 2011.

Ages 2-5

Little Pig suffers the fate of being the youngest in his family, and he doesn’t like it. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even like being called Little Pig (his name is Jacob). A familiar scenario plays out when Grandpa unpacks his old marching-band instruments: Little Pig is too little to play the drum, the trombone, the trumpet, and especially the tuba. His older siblings seem to be running the show as they practice the instruments, until an unfortunate musical move causes chaos when they tumble over one another. Little Pig astutely assesses the situation and takes on the role that is missing: a band leader. Under Jacob’s confident direction, the band marches on. The brief text highlights Little Pig’s frustration, a feeling common to young children everywhere, and provides a clever resolution. Dialogue incorporated into the fresh ink and watercolor art adds an extra layer of interest to this upbeat tale.  © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Diez deditos / Ten Little Fingers and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America by José-Luis Orozco. Illustrated by Elisa Kleven. Dutton, 1997

Babies – Age 7

Thirty-four traditional and original action songs are abundantly illustrated with Kleven’s trademark collage assemblages filled with happy children, interacting families, and people with individual faces and skin colors. The finger games are graphically represented with brief written directions and clear diagrams. Music notations suggest the tunes and can be played on a guitar or recorder by older children and adults quite new to these instruments. A bilingual subject index cites ten entries under Animals, Body Parts (8), Call-and-Response (2), Clapping (7), Counting (4), Dances (5), Family (3), Farewell (2), Finger Play (8), Food (4), Friendship (3), Greetings (3), Group Play (5), Musical Instruments (2), Professions (1), Self-Esteem (5), Sorrow (1), Special Celebrations (3), Tickling (2), Time (1), Transportation (1), Vowel Sounds (1), and Weather (2). Everything about this cheerful book is child friendly. It’s Spanish-language friendly, too, with Spanish words under the music and nearest to the graphic finger games; the English translations are secondary. Orozco brings a wealth of first-hand life experience to the book’s entries; he and Kleven were matched in the fine earlier volume De Colores and Other Latin-American Folk Songs for Children (Dutton, 1994) aimed at a slightly older child audience than this. CCBC categories: The Arts; Folklore, Mythology and Traditional Literature.  © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Alphabet Family Band by Sarah Jones. Blue Manatee Press, 2017

The musical members of a large, multiracial family demonstrate their skills with a wide array of instruments in this upbeat, rhyming board book. Beginning the alphabet with “Auntie Bangs Congas” and continuing through “Vince Works Xylophone,” each family member is featured. The last player showcased is “You,” as “You Zig, zag and zoom,” adding vocals with a microphone. Readers will discover new musical instruments (an ipu and lute are part of the collection) and enjoy the details on the culminating two-page spread of the entire Alphabet Family Band, dressed in floral clothing and leis, performing on a sandy beach. ©Cooperative Children’s Book Center

Ages 2–4