Holiday Song Book
Robert Quackenbush ~ Harry Buch ~ Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1977
In the last of my aforementioned songbook selections, again, Mr. Quackenbush is one of those authors that I love and hate equally. If you are a thrift book shopper like myself, you are bound to come across his titles almost more than any others. Why? I have no idea. He's just one of those guys that always seems to be hanging around. The name of any one of his books escapes me now (Henry the duck?), but if you peruse his website, you're bound to recognize more than a few.
So why the love/hate you say? Well, his illustrations kind of ride me. They are somewhat crude (which sometimes I find appealing), and they are somewhat crude (which sometimes drives me insane.) In this case, he makes me smile though, as he has thoughtfully taken time to find (and sometimes add to) a large collection of well-loved holiday tunes all sorted chronologically. Here the illustrations add to the sectional narrations and frame the chapters quite nicely. It is an indispensable resource, really, for traditional and fun singalongs and includes arrangements for both piano and guitar by Mr. Buch.
Notice how I am keeping the Halloween theme going here...
Skeleton Bones
Oh, those bones/ oh, those bones/
oh, those skeleton bones/
Oh, those bones/ oh, those bones/
oh, those skeleton bones/
Oh, those bones/ oh, those bones/
oh, those skeleton bones/
Oh, goodness, they scare!
With the toe bone connected to the foot bone/
and the foot bone connected to the ankle bone/
and the ankle bone connected to the leg bone/
Oh, goodness, they scare!
Seeing as Robert has hung around this long and is still making books today, there must be something about him that transcends time and keeps our children coming back for more. When I figure out exactly what it is, I'll let you know! In the meantime, this Thanksgiving day, don't forget...
Over the river and thro' the woods/
To grandmother's house we go/
The horse knows the way/
to carry the sleigh/
Thro' the white and drifted snow!
Those look so cute! That second song (from the holiday book) has recently made me somewhat obsessed with living in a forest where I have to ride in a sleigh to get to other people's houses.
ReplyDeleteLovely blog! :)
ReplyDeleteHe wrote my FAVORITE children's book of all time, Henry's Awful Mistake. Henry is a duck indeed, who destroys his entire house while trying to off an ant who might ruin his possibly romantic dinner date. My parents that book repeatedly to me as a child, and I tattered copy is in my hands as we speak.
ReplyDelete