Son of Children's Literature Conference

Jazz, by Walter Dean Myers

The next session I attended was about using music in storytimes. Now, about two years ago I made it my goal to add music to my storytimes somehow. Not just the songs I sing with children, but expose them to music. I have this sneaky little idea to run opera roughshod over the little darlings (well, with puppets, of course) because that is, after all, my passion, but just have never gotten around to it what with all the internet frou-frou dangling in front of me. I've matched some other goals: more puppets, creative dramatics, but the music thing was getting away from me.
This session was about Jazz - All that Jazz and Razzmatazz! The presenters had lists of books (such as the above, Jazz by Walter Dean Myers, Ella Fitzgerald and Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra by Andrea Pinkney, I See the Rhythm by Toyomi Igus, Dizzy by Jonah Winter, and Ellington Was Not a Street by Ntozake Shange (we have this in a kit!). She read these books to kids and played the artists' music in the background during the storytime! I'll have to look at these (these are the ones we have) to see if they are appropriate to my storytimes, but I have some Bessie Smith in my collection and we have the picture book, Bessie Smith and the Night Riders (okay, this may be a bit intense but it is a picture book!) by Sue Stauffacher. While I was in California, I went shopping for some Jazz compilations ... but I bought some Terry Pratchett books instead. Ooops. Will work on this. Can also use Brian Pinkney's Max Found Two Sticks with the rhythm sticks we bought for storytime.
If the jazz works, can opera be far behind? Dalla sua pa-ace, la mia di-ipe-e-e-ende!