For our sixth Infant Storytime of the spring session, we read books about making music.


Books We Shared

Our first story, Bears in a Band by Shirley Parenteau and illustrated by David Walker, follows four bear cubs as they jingle, shake, pa-rum-pa-pum and tootley-toot in cacophony, until they wake Big Bear from his nap. But he doesn’t get mad; he helps them to harmonize.

Our second book, Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell and illustrated by Diane de Groat, was a lyrical, upbeat book about a baby who has fun exploring all the things in the kitchen that make noise!


Flannel Board Song

The Band on the Bus

(to tune of “The Wheels on the Bus”)
The guitar on the bus goes strum, strum, strum (strum an air guitar)
Strum, strum, strum
Strum, strum, strum
The guitar on the bus goes strum, strum, strum
All through the town!

Other verses:

The trumpet on the bus goes toot, toot, toot… (put an imaginary horn to face)
The drum on the bus goes bang, bang, bang… (pat thighs)
The bell on the bus goes ring, ring, ring… (shake wrist like you’re ringing a bell)


Rhymes & Bounces & Songs We Shared without Music

We sing a lot of songs during storytime!  You’ll find lyrics to those songs without music here.

Hurry, Scurry Little Mouse

Hurry, scurry little mouse
Starts down at your toes (tickle toes)
Hurry, scurry little mouse
Past your knees it goes (tickle knees)
Hurry, scurry little mouse
Past where your tummy is (tickle tummy)
Hurry, scurry little mouse
Gives you a mousy kiss (kiss baby)

Icky Bicky Soda Cracker Bounce

Icky Bicky Soda Cracker (bounce baby gently on knees)
Icky Bicky Boo
Icky Bicky Soda Cracker
Up Goes You! (lift baby into air)

Icky Bicky Soda Cracker (bounce baby gently on knees)
Icky Bicky Boo
Icky Bicky Soda Cracker
I love you! (bring baby in for a cuddle)

The Jingle Song
(move shaker egg or jingle bells to the directions in the lyrics)
We jingle up high,
We jingle down low,
We jingle fast,
We jingle slow,
We jingle to the ceiling,
We jingle to the ground,
We jingle and we jangle
As we dance all around!

This next one we used puppets to enact:

This Little Bear
(tune: “This Old Man”)
This little bear, she played one
She played knick knack on her drum
With a knick knack paddy whack
Give a dog a bone
This little bear came rolling home

This little bear, he played two
He played jingle bells on my shoe
With a jingle jangle
Give a dog a bone
This little bear came rolling home

This little bear, she played three
She played shaker eggs on my knee
With a shake shake, shakey shake
Give a dog a bone
This little bear came rolling home

This little bear, he played four
He played tap tap on the floor
With a tap tap tappy tap
Give a dog a bone
This little bear came rolling home

Storytime’s Over
Hands up high! (Put your hands in air)
Now give a big sigh (sigh and bring hands down)
Our storytime’s over
So wave bye-bye (wave)


Music from CDs We Shared

I love to sing and dance to music.  Here are some of the songs and cds used in storytime.


“Clap Everybody and Say Hello” from Sally Go Round the Sun by Kathy Reid-Naiman

Clap everybody and say hello, (clap hands)
Clap everybody and say hello,
Clap everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Stamp everybody and say hello, (stomp feet)
Stamp everybody and say hello,
Stamp everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Wiggle everybody and say hello, (wiggle baby)
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
Wiggle everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Jump everybody and say hello, (lift baby up high)
Jump everybody and say hello,
Jump everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.

Sing everybody and say hello, (wave hi)
Sing everybody and say hello,
Sing everybody and say hello,
No matter what the weather.


“Ladies Ride” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

This is the way the ladies ride (bounce baby to rhythm)
Trit trot, trit trot
This is the way the ladies ride early in the morning!
This is the way the gentleman ride, gallop and trot, gallop and trot
This is the way the gentleman ride, early in the morning!
This is the way the farmers ride, clippity cloppety, clippity cloppety
This is the way the farmers ride early in the morning!
This is the way the cowgirls/boys ride, giddy up, giddy up
This is the way the cowgirls/boys ride early in the morning – YEEHAW!!
(REPEAT once more)


“Smooth Road to London Town” from

A smooth road to London town (sway baby gently on your lap)
A smooth road to London town
The road goes up and the road goes down
A smooth road to London town

But…

(bounce baby fast)
By and by we come to a dell
And there the roads are not so swell
A bumpy road! A bumpy road!
A bumpy road to London town

A smooth road to London town (sway baby gently on your lap)
A smooth road to London town
The road goes up and the road goes down
A smooth road to London town

(bounce baby fast)
By and by we come to a wood
And there the road is not so good
A rough road! A rough road!
A rough road to London town


“Skidamarink” from Wiggleworms Love You by Old Town School of Folk Music

Skidamarink a dink, a dink, (bounce baby to rhythm)
Skidamarink a doo
I love you
Skidamarink a dink, a dink,
Skidamarink a doo
I love you

I love you in the morning and in the afternoon
I love you in the evening and underneath the moon, Oh,

Skidamarink a dink, a dink,
Skidamarink a doo
I love you



Additional Activities

We played with puppets, jingle bells and other percussion toys!


Continue the Fun

Want more stories about making music?  Check these out at your Pasadena Public Library branch: