We were recently sent two of the Jump up and join in books. They are written by Carrie and David Grant, who wrote the books to encourage children to sing. I saw Carrie and David on BBC Breakfast news the other week talking about the inspiration behind the books. We are a pretty musical family. I love music, singing and dancing. I sing far too often. Not necessarily well, but singing a lot of the time. When I am alone in my car I really go for it. Singing at the top of my lungs. Usually to musicals, but I don't really mind. My son has very good pitch and tone and loves singing and dancing. As I have mentioned before, he is also a huge fan of musicals. We all sing in the car together. Usually to Cbeebies or The Wiggles, but all singing together. I love that my children both enjoy music and take pleasure from singing.
What they say
Carrie and David are passionate about getting all children to sing and are keen to encourage adults to feel more confident in teaching their little ones music skills from an early age. The Jump up and join in series was born as a result of this passion and will help young children learn a set of basic skills and develop a real love of music. As ambassadors for Sing Up - a not-for-profit organisation providing the complete singing solution for schools - and judges of the young singers on BBC1's Comic Relief Does Glee Club, Carrie and David believe children everywhere should be given the tools to enjoy, and to feel confident about, practising music in all its shapes and forms.
Elephant is far too loud for the family band and everyone's fed up...until a very special birthday present helps her find her gentle jingle-jangle!
Good points
Really easy to read.
Both children really enjoyed the stories.
Great to sit down and listen to the story.
The karaoke songs are fantastic and we all had fun singing along.
I think it is so important to have music in your children's lives and it is great to have a book which emphasises this.
Bad points
None.
Would I buy them?
Yes. They are really good books. The books retail at £6.99 but for this you get a CD as well and they are worth the money. The books are very easy to read and great fun to join in with. The vocal exercises are not too hard for the children and they really loved singing very loudly although I had to make sure that they didn't shout!
Disclosure: We received the two books mentioned for the purposes of the review. All opinions expressed are my own.
