Books by genre
Top 12 music books for kids
Music books can introduce instruments, composers and jazz in a way a recording cannot. Several of these are picture-book biographies of musicians; others teach the orchestra. They pair well with listening to the music alongside the book.
Titles were chosen from award winners, ALSC notable lists and long-running library favorites, then each title and author was checked against Open Library in Oct 2026. Checked 2026-10-25. Nobody paid to be here. The buy links are plain search links, not affiliate links, so Peabody earns nothing from them.
The Remarkable Farkle McBride
John Lithgow · Ages 4-8
A boy plays every instrument but cannot find his own. Rhyming picture book.
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Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin
Lloyd Moss · Ages 3-7
Musical instruments join in one by one in rhyme. Caldecott Honor.
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Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa
Andrea Davis Pinkney · Ages 6-10
Fitzgerald's life with scat-style phrases. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.
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Trombone Shorty
Troy Andrews · Ages 4-8
The New Orleans musician's boyhood. Caldecott Honor.
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Charlie Parker Played Be Bop
Chris Raschka · Ages 3-7
A jazz-rhythm picture book of the saxophonist.
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Duke Ellington
Andrea Davis Pinkney · Ages 6-10
A picture biography of the jazz composer. Caldecott Honor.
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When Marian Sang
Pam Muñoz Ryan · Ages 6-10
Marian Anderson and the 1939 Lincoln Memorial concert. Sibert Honor.
Watch for: Segregation.
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The Story of the Orchestra
Robert Levine · Ages 8-13
Instruments and composers with a CD of examples.
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Mouse Mozart
Jonah Winter · Ages 4-8
Mozart's life told through a mouse. Illustrated by Calef Brown.
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Drum Dream Girl
Margarita Engle · Ages 5-9
A girl in Cuba breaks the rule against female drummers. Based on a true story.
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Violet's Music
Angela Johnson · Ages 3-7
A girl looks for musical friends. Illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith.
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Lift Every Voice and Sing
James Weldon Johnson · Ages 6-12
The words of the Black national anthem, illustrated by Bryan Collier.
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