SING MY SONG

Songwriter and frequent school-assembly performer Seskin explains the process of collaborative songwriting for those who might like to try it. Step-by-step instructions, along with an audio CD of his favorite songs sung by the children who helped create them, help make his process clear. Seven different illustrators provide pictures to accompany the songs, giving the volume an appropriately collaborative, haphazard, albeit joyful feel. The CD, filled with the off-key exuberance of young children singing and yelling, adds much to understanding how the whole process works. The final tracks are instrumental, allowing budding songwriters to fill in the music with songs of their own. While the author’s enthusiasm is inspiring, this is more a book for adults who work with children than for children themselves. The lyrics are valuable, but there is no sheet music or musical notation to show how words become music that might be sung by anyone but the writer. Schools that teach songwriting or children and adults who want to get started in singing their own songs will be inspired by this cheerful celebration. (Nonfiction. 8-12, adult)