Children's Literature for Christian Music Ed: "One More River"

Joan Paley has adapted and beautifully illustrated the spiritual "One More River" in this book suitable for use in a Christian early childhood setting or Sunday school.

With our young students, this lengthy song going to be too challenging to sing all the way through.  Approach it as a call-and-response song, with the teacher as leader singing the verses (call) and the students always singing "There's one more river to cross." (response)

It will be useful to play a recording of "One More River" as the children are coming to class, or perhaps during their playtime.  As a teacher in a Christian school, or Sunday school, collect CDs of Bible songs, hymns, and children's Christian music for use in your classroom.  Hearing the music often will help them get the tune in their ear even before you introduce the song. And since there are so many great hymns out there, the children will be exposed to the music even if you don't get a chance to teach it directly.

• With each verse, the animals are counting to ten in Paley's adaptation.  It will be helpful for your students to have each of the animals highlighted on the board with their picture. The verses are:

1. The animals went in one by one/The elephant chewing a honey bun.
2. The animals went in two by two/"Let's hop right in," said the kangaroo.
3. The animals went in three by three/Baby bear said, "Please wait for me!"
4. The animals went in four by four/ The bulls stomped in, Noah waved for more.
5. The animals went in five by five/ Five fluffy llamas did arrive.
6. The animals went in seven by seven/The flamingos' necks reached up to heaven.
8. The animals went in eight by eight/The aardvark said, "Are we too late?"
9. The animals went in nine by nine/The turtles came in slow green lines.
10. The animals went in ten by ten/"We're the last ones in!" said the big fat hen.
11. So then the voyage did begin/Old Noah pulled the gangplank in.
12. For forty days and nights they sat/Till they finally landed on Ararat.

• When my son saw this book in my pile to write about, he reminded me that he used to choose this often for me to read/sing to him at bedtime when he was younger. So, I can vouch that this one is "child-approved", and that he used to get a kick out of singing the verse about the "big fat hen" for some reason!