Teachers of general music are tasked with the challenge of locating high-quality repertoire for classroom use and to incorporate that repertoire into meaningful music learning encounters for children and youth. This task may become all the more difficult when seeking out repertoire of substance from traditional sources, finding songs of folk…

American composer Ruth Crawford Seeger grew into the role of music educator as a consummate musician with a deep interest in connecting children to their American musical heritage. This article examines the contributions of Ruth Crawford Seeger to American music education, principally through examination of primary and secondary sources and review…

Profiles the life/work of the award winning picture-book author-illustrator Barbara Cooney. Includes her early development as an artist; early attempts at the picture-book form; experimentation with different media: watercolor, pen/ink with wash, charcoal, acrylics, pastels, and collage; later work that draws upon folk-art traditions; her love of…

Judy P. Byers talks about the work of the late folklorist Ruth Ann Musick and her own work as a folklorist. She describes the gathering of Appalachian folklore, particularly ghost stories, and her task completing Musick's unfinished work. Byers advocates the importance of folklore as a bridge between one's personal history and the great stories of…

Author and illustrator of children's books Paul Brett Johnson draws on his Appalachian roots for inspiration. While growing up in Knott County, Kentucky, he was exposed to the oral tradition of Appalachian storytelling while listening to his grandfather tell fantastic tales. His use of humor, regional settings, and wise animals presented from a…

Presents ideas for extending activities focusing on Paul Goble's books and Native Americans. Provides an annotated bibliography of Goble's books and lists audio recordings, video recordings, and biographical information. (PEN)

Recordings are not a new educational "gadget" to high-school language arts teachers. For more than a score of years some teachers have been using a few recordings of literature with varying degrees of success. Today, the extensive range of recordings available, the professional quality of the performances, and the fidelity of the…

Presents picture books, fiction, nonfiction, biographies, folklore, and poetry for young students (kindergarten-grade 8) studying China. Suggests activities based on the books using art, physical education, language arts, research skills, math, science, geography, and drama. Highlights books and collections of folk tales with stories about…