I Hear America Singing! : Folksongs for American Families with CD

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Songs--not the best range for children.
Review: I bought this book on a bit of a whim. It is a wonderful collection of American folksongs. The arrangements are very simplistic. Chords are included by letter name. The book is attractive. The first verse is within the grand staff, the rest are at the end of the song.

For teaching elementary age children there are two glitches:
There are page turns on many of the songs even though the songs are generally quite short. The keys are much too low in many instances, which is unnatural and unhealthy for young singing voices. Many go as low as "a or g" below middle "c". So, you'll be well off to transpose. Hopefully, you can transpose on the fly.

Other than that, the book is quite nice.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful buy
Review: The CD is a family favorite, and the book has gotten our family singing songs we only knew the choruses to. ("Git along little doggies..." what's the rest?) Possibly my all-time best purchase from Amazon.