Building a Partnership Between Music and Reading Skills

Encorporating reading is natural in early childhood music education, but sometimes finding appropriate literature is not.  We want to be sure that both reading skills and music skills are being addressed by incorporating a particular book.  You will know that the balance is met when you can identify specific music objectives being met at the same time as reading skills are reinforced. 

Also, building a library of children's literature appropriate for reinforcing music is challenging to a new teacher because of the expense of purchasing the books.  Here are some of my thrify tips for picking up quality books on the cheap:

1. I purchased many of my books through Scholastic when I was a classroom teacher.  If you are not a classroom teacher, ask some friendly classroom teachers in your building if you can take a look at their book order to see what they have to offer. 
2. Amazon is my go-to choice for books of all kinds, and I prefer to buy the used books because the price can be as low as $0.01! Shipping is $3.99, but it is still a good deal to get a specific book that I want to use in my classes. Barnes and Noble also offers used books on their site, but I have not used them because I've always been satisfied with Amazon.
3. Other teacher's cast-offs are another place to search, and they are FREE.  In every building I've ever worked in, there has been a spot where teachers place the materials that they no longer use in hopes that someone else will find a use for them.  It's worth a look...and if you don't end up using the book, it can always go back in the pile for someone else!
4. Library sales are another economic choice for children's books, and you get to browse the books in person, unlike Scholastic book orders or online ordering.
5. Borrowing from the library is a good idea if you aren't sure if the book will be one that you want.  If you borrow it, you can give it a "trial run" in a few music classes with your students to see if it's one that you want to invest in for your library.  If it's not the "hit" you hoped it would be, then you can just return it to the library (hopefully, on time!)