Songs and Fingerplay Favorites from ACL Members

Songs and Fingerplay Favorites from the Association of Children’s Librarians of Northern California

On November 9, 2018, members of ACL shared their favorite storytime “attention- getters,” which are songs and fingerplays that help focus the attention of very young children attending storytime. Thanks to everyone who came and shared their favorites, singing each suggestion to teach it to the rest of us. For new storytime presenters, singing can be intimidating, and it may be difficult to know which songs to present. Listed below are some of our favorites, with links to find them online so you can learn them:

Fun songs:

“Popcorn” by Raffi – www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCthC0-61z4

“Here is the Beehive” – https://kcls.org/content/here-is-a-beehive/

“I Have Ten Fingers and They All Belong to Me” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=teIJUjKnHX0

“If You’re Happy and You Know It” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzW7zt2EUb4

“Wheels on the Bus” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lle38aEc5E

“Everybody Find a Seat” – https://kcls.org/content/everybody-have-a-seat/

“Very Funny Spider” – https://storytimeukulele.wordpress.com/2015/06/30/itsy-bitsy-spider-and-variations/

“Mmm Ahh Went the Little Green Frog” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwU3beZ9kcw

“Wake Up Feet” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=vM3Zh6sikTU

“Everybody Wants to Be a Butterfly” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAkbPnaDJeE

“Little Red Caboose” – https://kcls.org/content/little-red-caboose/

“Mr. Frog Jumped Out of the Pond One Day” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nuvg50ZAgo

“Scratch a Friend’s Back” – https://carrypaterson.wordpress.com/2015/09/10/scratch-a-friends-back/

“There’s a Brand New Baby” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCerzlxs-UE

“This Old Road Is Hard and Bumpy” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=SApkmDStph8

“Five Green and Speckled Frogs” – https://kcls.org/content/five-green-and-speckled-frogs/

“You Can’t Make a Turtle Come Out” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrkuSda3Umk

Songs to use with puppet:

“Jack in the Box Jumps Up” – https://kcls.org/content/jack-in-a-box/

“Big Gray Elephant” – https://storytimekatie.com/2012/09/24/elephants/

Lullabies to calm everyone down:

“Tender Shepherd” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP4CK-WplYw

“All the Pretty Little Horses” – https://kcls.org/content/all-the-pretty-little-horses/

“Here Is a Baby Ready for a Nap” – http://melissa.depperfamily.net/blog/?p=4254

“Little Bunny Sleeping on the Floor” – https://kcls.org/content/look-at-all-the-bunnies/

Calming technique – Taking a deep ocean breath (see yoga books and websites for a demonstration).

Favorite resources for songs and fingerplays:

Jbrary: https://jbrary.com/
King County Library System: https://kcls.org/content/
Jenkins, Ella. This Is the Rhythm. Sing Out Publications, 1993: www.amazon.com/This-Rhythm-Ella-Jenkins/dp/1881322025/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541968638&sr=1-1&keywords=This+is+the+rhythm .

Tried and True:

“Hello Everybody, Yes Indeed”

Hello everybody, yes indeed

Yes indeed, yes indeed

Hello everybody, yes indeed; yes indeed everybody.

Wiggle your fingers, yes indeed

Yes indeed, yes indeed

Wiggle your fingers, yes indeed; yes indeed everybody.

Clap your hands, yes indeed

Yes indeed, yes indeed

Clap your hands, yes indeed; yes indeed everybody.

Let’s read a story, yes indeed

Yes indeed, yes indeed

Let’s read a story, yes indeed; yes indeed everybody.

“Head and Shoulders”

Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes,
And eyes and ears and mouth and nose,
Head and shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes.

“Open, Shut Them”

Open, shut them.
Open, shut them.
Give a little clap.

Open, shut them
Open, shut them
Put them in your lap.

Creep them, creep them
Slowly creep them
Right up to your chin

Open up your mouth
But do not let them in.

“Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed”

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Four little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped her head
So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Three little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped his head
So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Two little monkeys jumping on the bed
One fell off and bumped her head
So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

One little monkey jumping on the bed
He fell off and bumped his head
So Momma called the doctor and the doctor said
No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

“Wheels on the Bus”

The wheels on the bus go round and round
Round and round, round and round
The wheels on the bus go round and round
All through the town.
(Roll hands over each other)

The wipers on the bus go “Swish, swish, swish,
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish”
The wipers on the bus go “Swish, swish, swish”
All through the town.
(Put arms together in front of you and ‘swish’ like windshield wipers)

The horn on the bus goes “Beep, beep, beep
Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep”
The horn on the bus goes “Beep, beep, beep”
All through the town.
(Pretend to honk horn)

The money on the bus goes “Clink, clink, clink,
Clink, clink, clink, clink, clink, clink”
The money on the bus goes “Clink, clink, clink”
All through the town.
(Pretend to put money in cash box on bus)

The baby on the bus says, “Wah, wah, wah!
Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah!”
The baby on the bus says, “Wah, wah, wah!”
All through the town.
(Fists in front of eyes and rub them like baby crying)

The parents on the bus say, “Shh, shh, shh,
Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh”
The parents on the bus say, “Shh, shh, shh”
All through the town.
(Put pointer finger to mouth to ‘shhh’)

“Shake Your Hands”