Back Cover: Music Together Singalong Storybooks bring your favorite Music Together songs to life. Share some time with your child as you sing, and read each colorfully illustrated song. Since 1987, Music Together has been bringing the Joy of Family Music®to young children and the grownups who love them.

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4 Stars
She Sells Sea Shells
Kenneth Guilmartin
Bruno Merz
Music Together
32 Pages     Ages: 0 to 7

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The story is about a young girl who searches the beach for colorful sea shells to sell to the tourists. She travels by boat accompanied by her dog and a couple of bird friends. All the seaside vacationers are thrilled to see the girl and her sea shells.

She sells sea shells like the oyster, mussel, snail, periwinkle, and clam while big birds fly approvingly high above in the sky. When the girl’s sea shells are sold, she leaves the seaside visitors and rows her boat back home. She arrives to the waiting arms of her father.

I don’t remember this as a song, but as a tongue twister.

She sells sea shells by the sea shore. (repeat three times, as quickly as possible—if you can!)

The illustrations are nice. The artist uses a pale pallet  of blues, pinks, greens, and yellows. The colors are soothing and fit the vacation themed story perfectly.

The book includes several activities that can be done with sea shells or with the story. There is the sheet music for those who want to accompany the song, and instructions on where to obtain the Music Together CD with the song on it.

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4 Stars
Hello, Everybody
Kenneth Guilmartin
David Hill
Music Together
32 Pages     Ages: 0 to 7

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This story is about a family on an outing to various places, greeting everyone along the way. The family visits a playground, ride a trolley to a museum, watch an outdoor concert by the ocean. Along the way, a dinosaur joins the family greeting everyone with non-threatening roars.

The song in this sing-along is called The Hello Song. It is from a Music Together award-winning CD Music Together Family Favorites. This song has been sung at the beginning of every Music Together class for the past 25 years.

Hello, Everybody also includes activities, the sheet music, and instructions on how to get the music online.

Both She Sells Sea Shells and Hello, Everybody are meant to help young, pre-literate children and grown-ups play, sing, and learn together at home and in classrooms. Music Together is an acclaimed international early childhood education program for kids from birth through second grade.

I’ve used simplistic songs, though not these two, in working with children. The songs we used stimulated learning, helped build confidence, and raised self-esteem. I imagine these two songs accomplish those, plus more. I like how these songs easily bring kids and adults together in play and song. If there is one thing I found working with kids is they need positive, friendly, and encouraging adult attention, starting at the youngest ages and continuing through the teenage years. She Sells Sea Shells and Hello, Everybody can help at the youngest ages.

Adults may find these repetitive songs tiring at times, but children learn through repetition, making the Hello Song and others like it, important learning tools. Repetition helps children, and adults, master languages and math. These songs also bring adults and children together to play and stimulate imagination.

Founded in 1987, Music Together offers “developmentally appropriate, research-based classes” for kids and parents. They have been in more than 2,000 communities in 40 counties the world over. Music Together can be found online at http://www.musictogether.com.

She Sells Sea Shells and Hello, Everybody are the book versions of a Wii. The Wii brings families together playing simple games like bowling and archery. These Music Together books can bring the young family together in story and song, while enhancing the life of the youngest child.

She Sells Sea Shells (Music Together Singalong Storybook)

Author: Kenneth Guilmartin
Illustrator: Bruno Merz
Publisher: Music Together
Release Date: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9855719-2-4
Number of Pages: 32
Ages: 0 to 7

Hello, Everybody! (Hello Song) (Music Together Singalong Storybooks)

Author: Kenneth Guilmartin
Illustrator: David Hill
Publisher: Music Together
Release Date: 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9855719-0-0
Number of Pages: 32
Ages: 0 to 7

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Copyright® 2013 Music Together, used with permission.