Created by a preschool music teacher and tested in the classroom, Ooga Booga Music Monster is a music and movement book that exposes children to several musical meters, styles, and keys, setting them up for success in music for the rest of their lives.
It can be read as a normal children’s book, or go online to find the songs for free and listen along as you flip through the pages. The songs may inspire your child to dance, and there are movements that go along with each song.
What will your child get out of the songs and the book?
Your 2- to 3-year old will enjoy the stories and learn the Ooga Booga chorus, possibly singing it on their own outside of story time. They will be exposed to the different musical meters and styles of these songs, preparing them for a future of musical diversity.
Your 3- to 5-year-old will start picking out the rhyming words, saying them with you, and they will start to remember and recite phrases of the story. They will enjoy the movements that go along with each story as the characters outsmart Ooga Booga and make their escape.
Your 6- to 7-year-old will start reading the stories and understanding how all the elements of the story work together. They will begin to be able to tap and clap correctly with the music. The dyslexic-friendly font is inclusive of more readers, and the stories will increase your child’s vocabulary.
Ooga Booga Music Monster is designed to provide music exposure:
Meter, tempo and dynamics
- Exposes young children to different musical meter: listening, reading, or singing in different time signatures (4/4, 6/8, 7/8) can enhance musical ability later in life.
- Teaches Musical Tempo & Dynamics: some of the songs are fast, some are slow; some are loud, and some are quieter. Exposure to different tempos and dynamics can help children become more aware of these differences in other music.
Movement and rhythm
- Develops Rhythm skills: tap and clap to the beat with your child; available audio and video tracks, with and without vocals, allow for the child, parent, or Britt (on audio track) to read along rhythmically.
- Movement: each story has accompanying movement for participation, light exercise, and learning to move to music.
- Challenging fun for all ages: a fun challenge for parents and older children to read with rhythm in different musical meters. Younger children can start to memorize the songs (and the words are a lot more complex and interesting than everyone’s favorite young shark song!)
Singing
- Participation in Musical intervals – minor 3rd: the sing-along chorus introduces children to the easiest-to-learn musical interval, the minor third, a head start toward tuning their ear for music, later helping with singing or musical instruments.
- Musical Phrasing: Children start to learn when it’s their turn to sing the chorus. They learn the feel of the phrasing in the music.
The book also encourages cognitive development:
Imagination and vocabulary
- Imagination: The chorus of each song asks the child to become the character that escapes from Ooga Booga.
- Broadens language skills: children can learn rhyming words and some advanced, new vocabulary.
- Dyslexic-friendly font: for easy reading, inclusive of more readers.
Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Development:
- Social Development: the illustrations show the music monster with several different expressions, which can lead to conversations about how he feels. Ask children, “how would you feel in this situation where Ooga Booga feels upset?” or, “would you help Ooga Booga?” Ask questions about new vocabulary words or phrases to broaden understanding.
- Promotes discussion about sharing: stories demonstrate the problem of wanting to take others’ toys, providing an opportunity for parents to discuss appropriate sharing of toys.
- Models non-violence and resourcefulness: the characters cleverly outsmart Ooga Booga with nonviolent tactics, serving as an example of appropriate responses to others’ bad behavior.
Other information about the book:
- The book includes music notation prepared by Esin Aydingoz.
- The songs were professionally recorded by Roy Silverstein at Rarefied Recording, and Ben Krueger at Stellar Audio Lab.
- The beautiful illustrations were created by Renata Christine.
- The songs were composed by Britt Powitz in GarageBand.