I love this book! I discovered it at the studio in a stack of books they had for sale, and I love it! This is a wonderful resource for any vocal teacher who is looking for songs with an appropriate range and content for young singers. It is hard to find something that works well for kids in the under 13 category; often the content is too mature and would be inappropriate (or not believable) or the range/complexity of the melody is simply not suitable for a young and developing voice.
So far in this book I have enjoyed working with students on “Tomorrow” (Annie), “Castle on a Cloud” (Les Miserables), and “When I Grow Up” (Matilde). This last one was introduced to me by a student. She competed in Access Broadway recently (and did very well!). Her drama director selected the song, and they had to do staging, lighting, makeup, etc. as if it were a scene from a Broadway musical, and then they received feedback from professional directors. I am going to have this student work on one of the pieces that says, “I have Broadway on the brain.” (I forget which one this is…either “Let Me Entertain You” or “Born to Entertain”. I always switch them around.)
Another benefit of this book is that examples of the music being performed by children are readily available. There are multiple versions of Annie out there, some clips from other movies are on YouTube, and a recent award celebration featured “When I Grow Up” and is also available on YouTube.
NOTE: Please make sure you are getting the updated version of this book! (Unless you really want an older one.) TWICE I ordered used versions of the book, advertised as the revised edition, and both times (from different sellers) I received an older version! So I have THREE copies of this book. They are not identical, so if there is one particular song you want, be sure to check! One book has music from Peter Pan, but the others do not.
Enjoy!
Adventures of a Music Teacher 