8 Lively Picture Books to Enhance Your Child's Love of Music

When teaching music to young children, educators and parents today can choose from a wide range of colorful, fun, and fascinating picture books that will enhance their lesson plans. Here are only a few of the best books for preschoolers and early elementary students that offer lilting texts and multi-layered pictures to help to convey the joy found in music.

1. Music, Music for Everyone

Author and illustrator Vera B. Williams’ Music, Music for Everyone debuted in 1984. Published by Greenwillow Books and selected as a Reading Rainbow book, this delightful story follows a young girl named Rosa as she recruits her friends into a community band to raise money that will help see her family through her grandmother’s illness. The book has earned praise as a warm tale of community and the power of music. 

2. My Family Plays Music

My Family Plays Music, written by Judy Cox and illustrated by Elbrite Brown, showcases the lives of an entire family of musicians in bright and lively cut-paper pictures. Educators have praised the book as a first introduction to the range of musical instruments children can play. Published by Holiday House, it received a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent Illustrator after its original publication in 2003.
 
The heroine of the story practices making music with a variety of instruments alongside different members of her family. She tries out the triangle with her father and his string quartet, joins her aunt’s jazz band playing the woodblock, and more. 
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3. Kat Writes a Song

Kat Writes a Song, written and illustrated by Greg Foley, is a story of inspiration, creativity, and the ability of music to brighten anyone’s day. Published by the Little Simon imprint in 2018, the book stars Kat, a kitten who is feeling down and lonely on a rainy day. She writes and sings a song, and finds the clouds and rain going away. But the magic really begins when she decides to share her song to lift the spirits of her friends and others in the neighborhood.

4. ​Barnyard Boogie!

In Barnyard Boogie!, author Tim McCanna’s rhyming text is filled with the sounds of music, charmingly illustrated by Allison Black. The book, with its catchy refrain, makes a wonderful read-aloud for story time or as part of a music lesson.
 
The story focuses on a group of animal musicians who all hit the right notes, except for Cow, who can do nothing but moo. The line-up features Goat on the saxophone, Pig on the piano, Horse on the tuba, and Cat on the fiddle—all finally joined by Cow as the leader of the orchestra. This festival of onomatopoeic fun was published by Abrams Appleseed in 2017.
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5. Music Class Today! 

Part of the Music for Aardvarks series, Music Class Today! was written by David Weinstone and illustrated by Vin Vogel. Published in 2015 by Farrar Straus Giroux, Music Class Today! is the simple story of a music class, one shy student, and how to find the inner strength to try new experiences. The lively text and illustrations bring the excitement of making music as a group to life.
 
In addition to his work as a picture book author, Weinstone created the imagination-fueled Music for Aardvarks CDs and classes for young children. 
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6. ​Miguel and the Grand Harmony

The making of Miguel and the Grand Harmony brought together Newbery Award-winning writer Matt de la Peña and Pixar artist Ana Ramírez to create an original work of art based on characters from the beloved movie Coco. The book, published by Disney Press in 2017, tells the story of Miguel. Prohibited from making music, the young boy practices on his homemade guitar in secret. He gets help from the spirit of La Música, who creates the right sequence of circumstances that will allow his dream to come true.
 
The book’s rich illustrations celebrate music’s ability to be a creative force that enhances life’s journey.
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7. Geraldine, the Music Mouse

Leo Lionni was a painter and sculptor, and the author and illustrator of dozens of children’s picture books, including the much-beloved Swimmy. The winner of four Caldecott Honor awards for his work, Lionni published Geraldine, the Music Mouse in 1979, and the book was recently reissued by Random House Children’s Books.
 
In the story, Geraldine discovers a statue of a mouse (made of cheese!) that plays music. Every night, Geraldine’s secret home is filled with the magic of the statue’s beautiful music. When her mouse friends ask her to share her cheese, Geraldine discovers the magic of her own music in a tale that is a pure flight of fantasy.
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8. Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin

And finally, there is Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin. The now-classic picture story treatment of the instruments of the orchestra was written by Lloyd Moss, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman, and published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in 1995.
 
This Caldecott Honor book spotlights the distinctive voices of 10 different instruments in catchy and musically rhyming words set amidst a swirl of saturated pinks, golds, and other colors. It also serves as a counting book, as one by one the instruments and their musicians take the stage.