I need to lay something out there for everyone to see. I am a HUGE
advocate for keeping music education in our schools, so when the author Johnny
Oddsocks asked if I would be willing to write a blog post about his
book What's My Instrument? I quickly agreed. In his
book, Johnny Oddsocks tells the story of Marilyn the Mongoose who wants to
start a band and introduces kids to a variety of musical instruments.
Keep reading to learn more about What's My Instrument? and how you can
integrate it into your language arts or music lessons at school.
Disclosure:
Affiliate links
to Amazon are included in this post.
🍎 Title:
What's My Instrument?
🍎 Author: Johnny Oddsocks
🍎 Illustrator: Johnny Oddsocks
🍎 Date: November 28, 2019
🍎 Publisher: Off the Shelf Publishing Ltd.
🍎 Pages: 24
Author's Summary
Marilyn the Mongoose is keen to start a band, but she can't play an
instrument! There is only one thing to do-- Marilyn tries out
lots of different instruments. Most attempts result in hilarious
consequences, but eventually, she finds the one perfect for her.
Are you excited to meet her band and to find out what instrument she
will play at the big concert?
Reading the Story
Children of all ages love listening and dancing to music, so What's My Instrument? will appeal to your students. Before reading
What's My Instrument? to your class, take a few minutes to go through
the story
and talk about the illustrations together. What instruments do
your students recognize? Can they mimic the sounds the instruments
make? What animals do they see in the pictures? What are those
animals doing? Ask your students if the story is real or if it's
make-believe (realistic vs. fantasy)? While you're reading What's My Instrument? to your class, have fun and read it with expression. You might even
find ways to integrate movement into your reading of it.
What's My Instrument? is a story about music and is written in poetic form. Whatever you
do... do not read this story with a dull and monotonous voice!
Listening to Instruments
When you read a story about musical instruments, it's nice to follow it up by
listening to some music. That is what What's My Instrument? is about after all!
Listed below are some Youtube videos your students might enjoy. Each
video matches up with one of the instruments Marilyn and her friends played in
the story. As you watch the videos together, talk about what the music
sounds like and how it makes them feel. Add some movement to the lesson
and let them dance!
Note: At the time of this blog post, they each contained music that was
age-appropriate for children. Please preview the videos before listening
to them with your students to make sure the links still work and that they
continue to lead where they are supposed to.
Baby Shark on Piano:
Baby Shark on Drums:
Baby Shark DJ Remix:
Baby Shark on Trumpet:
Baby Shark on Guitar:
Baby Shark by the Original Singers:
Rock and Roll Baby Shark (metal version):
What other ways are you able to integrate music into a lesson about What's My Instrument? Are there any instruments your students can make and then play
together in a band of their own? Share your fun ideas in the comments
below!
💖 You're welcome for the earworm. 💖
Hi Kelly, thanks so much for the feature - I hope that people find the book a useful way to explore music! I read it at my son's nursery once and let all the kids have a go on toy instruments - it can be a really fun interactive session!
ReplyDeleteHi Johnny. I'm glad you enjoyed my blog post about your book. I had a lot of fun reading your book and creating this lesson for it. I hope more parents and teachers will be inspired to integrate music in their interactions with kids!
Delete