suggested by Vicki Palmquist, children's literature enthusiast

Folk music relates the stories of nations from the viewpoint of individuals, ordinary and extraordinary. Its ballads have long recorded history, biography, and fiction. Its rhythms reflect the temperament, sociology, and culture of people in many lands. Whether folk music is in or out of fashion, it is always being sung, whether it's a lullabye, protest song, camp song, or any of the many ways people communicate musically.

Follow the Drinking Gourd
written and illustrated by Jeanette Winter

I first heard this song when it was sung by The New Christy Minstrels. As a child, I didn't understand that it was a song that slaves sang to each other to relay that the way to escape was by following the North Star in the Big Dipper. The primitive style inJeanette Winter's version of this tale works well with the strong emotions of the story.

Elizabeth’s Song
written by Michael Wenberg
illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright

This book is a fictional account of 11-year-old Elizabeth "Libba"Cotten saving money to buy her first guitar and composing "Freight Train." You know the song, "Freight train, freight train / goin' so fast. Please don't tell what train I'm on and they won't know what route I've gone." She taught herself to play the guitar, upside-down and left-handed. Born in 1985, she married when she was 15 and set her guitar aside. In 1940, she left her husband to live with her only daughter and began to play the guitar again. She went to clean for the Seeger family, who recorded her work on the Folkways label. Considered one of the best guitarists, she is an honored African American musician. This book is a great way to start a discussion about folk music, guitars, and musicians.

IWonder as IWander
written byGwenyth Swain
illustrated byRonald Himler

Annie Morgan wonders about a lot of things. She wonders why her mother had to die. She wonders how she and her wandering preacher father will pay for gas and food when they're just as poor as everybody else. Finally she finds a way to express all her wonderings in a haunting song sung to a small crowd on the courthouse steps. This charming story tells how the beloved Appalachian Christmas carol "I Wonder As I Wander" may have come to be written.

Turn, Turn, Turn
written by Pete Seeger
illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin

Whether you know the song from church or The Byrds, it was Pete Seeger who wrote the music to the text fromEcclesiastes. Wendy Halperin chose to illustrate the book in contrasting wheels, comparing "a time to be born" and "a time to die." Many examples present a lot of opportunity for discussion.

American Folksongs for Children
written by Ruth Seeger
illustrated by Barbara Cooney

I love this book for the songs collected on its pages and for the drawings by Barbara Cooney. There are 90 songs here, collected by Ruth Crawford Seeger, one of America's most respected composers. Ninety of America's best-loved songs, both wordsand music, are accompanied by suggestions for activities. Seeger was an avant-garde composer, but also collaborated withCarlSandburg on folk song arrangements in the 1920s and with John and AlanLomax as they collected folk songs in the 1930s. She lived from 1901 to 1953.

If I Had a Rooster
written by Pete Seeger
illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger

Animator, producer, and children's book author and illustrator Laura Vaccaro Seeger has taken one of Pete Seeger's folk songs and created a brightly colored book for young readers. The wife of Pete Seeger's nephew Chris, Laura combines an introduction by Pete Seeger, the sketches he used to show children when he taught in classrooms, and a CD with a recording that makes it fun to use.

This Land Was Made For You and Me
written by Elizabeth Partridge
illustrated by Woody Guthrie

The author chooses to focus on the artistic life of Woody Guthrie, a folksinger who composed more than 3,000 songs during his 55 years. Through interviews with Guthrie's children Arlo and Nora, his close friend and fellow folksinger Pete Seeger, and a great deal of bibliographic material, Partridge reveals a man who rose from a difficult background, felt deeply about the need for social change, and fought personal demons—as well as Huntington's disease during the last 12 years of his life—to create some of America's most beloved and well-known music.

Bling Blang
written by Woody Guthrie
illustrated by Vladimir Radunsky

A great book for singing out loud together, this is WoodyGuthrie's song about building a house for baby — with lots of raucous musical sound effects. Look for a CD and for the sheet music printed on the inside of the dust jacket. Good for story time, good for at home on rainy days, Radunsky's illustrations are lots of fun.

She'llBe Comin'Round the Mountain
written byPhilemonSturges
illustrated byAshley Wolff

Okay, if you're a reader or if you're working with a classroom of readers, this is a fresh take on the traditional song. I've always wanted to know who "she" is—the song never tells us—and this book proposes a satisfying answer. Set in the Southwest, with some new verses about tacos and enchiladas, this is a fun take on the song and perfect for singing out loud. And wait until you see why all the characters are anxiously awaiting "she."

This Land is Your Land
written by Woody Guthrie
illustrated by Kathy Jakobsen

This well-known folk song is accompanied by a tribute from folksinger Pete Seeger, complete lyrics and musical notation, and a biographical scrapbook with photographs. The illustrations are intricate and fascinating, providing a lot to discover and a good opportunity for discussions.

Abiyoyo
written by Pete Seeger
illustrated by Michael Hays

When I worked at ToyWorks in the 1970s, the Folkways recording of this song played on the sound system several times a day. I grew to love the tune and the story. Banished from the town for making mischief, a little boy and his father are welcomed back when they find a way to make the dreaded giant Abiyoyo disappear. The song is adapted from a SouthAfrican folktale. Michael Hays sets it in a global village, where many learn the value of acceptance.

Do you miss seeing one of your favorite folk music books on this list? Send us an e-mail, and we'll post Members' Favorites alongside this list.