Anyone who is forced to work with me on a regular basis knows this book was written for me. If you have been denied the joy of my scintillating musical creativity, this book is the next best thing (or, if I must be honest, a far greater thing!)
What exactly does Alan Katz do, you ask? Clever man that he is, Katz takes well-known songs such as “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” and creates his own whimsical versions. One such song, “I’m Filthy, I’m Dirty,” set to “It’s Raining, It’s Pouring,” goes like this:
I’m filthy, I’m dirty
Got mud on my shirt-y
On a whim
I took a swim
In a puddle with a birdie!
I’m smelly, I’m dusty
From head to toe I’m musty
To be a slob’s
A full-time job
I guess I look disgust-y
If the songs themselves aren’t enough to get kids to crack up, then the illustrations by David Catrow surely are! Quirky and slightly odd, they are the perfect counterpoint to the goofy songs. The illustrations are slightly too detailed to be suitable for story time applications but are fantastic for one-on-one or for a child reading on his/her own.
I really love this book and use stand alone songs frequently for my older story time crowds, but be advised that it takes a certain amount of courage to sing “Stinky Stinky Diaper Change.”
Check the WRL catalog for Take me out of the Bathtub and other silly dilly songs.
Good choice. I remember singing songs from these with Laurie in the library. I think we got a few strange looks. When I pull these out now at school, they fly off the shelves. It is something you only have to show to one class and then they are checked out all the time.