*Picture book, contemporary, for preschoolers through 2nd graders
*Dan, the Taxi Man and a band as main characters
*Rating: Dan, the Taxi Man (Publisher: Kane Miller) follows a classic children’s book form that I happen to love. There’s sound effects that are easy to read aloud AND there’s repeating text. Think The House that Jack Built crossed with Charlie Parker Played Be Bop.
Short, short summary:
Dan, the Taxi Man is picking up the band. Beep! Beep! He picks up Maureen with her tambourine. Shake-a shake, crash! Shake-a shake, crash! Next comes. . .Tyrone with his saxophone. Squeeba-dee dee, squeeba-dee doo! And so on. Once the entire band is in the taxi, Dan delivers them to their gig on time. But something is missing from a stellar performance. Find out what it is in this cute picture book.So, what do I do with this book?
1. Dan, the Taxi Man begs to be read out loud! Once Dan picks up a musician, that person’s instrument sound is repeated on each page. So, children can repeat the sound with the reader. If you have a large classroom, you can have children divided into groups, and each group can be a different instrument. Have fun reading this book aloud.
2. Before reading the ending to children, ask them to predict what is missing from the band’s performance. Ask children to explain their prediction based on the text or other books they have read.
3. If possible, bring in real instruments or real musicians and have them play the instruments that are mentioned in the story. This is actually a great book for a music teacher to use with young children!
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