Barefoot Books pound;9.99. www.barefootbooks.com

Insects playing guitars, trombones and pianos provide eye-catching illustrations to help primary pupils learn to count from one to 10. This book by Tony Langham is full of facts about creepy-crawlies and the instruments that make up a calypso band. An accompanying CD contains tracks to get the class singing.

Music Together

Education Matters pound;59.50 + pound;5.95 pp

www.educationmatters.co.uk

Music Together consists of four packs each containing 10 original pieces arranged for a variety of instruments and talents, with an accompanying CD that contains full and backing tracks for each piece. There is also a guide, some of which is photocopiable, to teaching a classroom orchestra with advice about preparation, motivation and assessment.

Music Ace

Harmonic Vision (for PC and Mac)

Approx pound;26 (US $49.94)

www.harmonicvision.com

With the help of Maestro Max and the Singing Notes choir, Music Ace introduces pupils to rhythm, melody, harmony and key signatures through 24 lessons. Building on this, Music Ace 2 features lessons about pitch, theory, sight-reading and scales, presenting more than 2,000 examples from 75 composers. Pupils’ knowledge is tested with a game at the end of each lesson and the Creative Doodle Pad gives them the opportunity to become a composer.

Daniel - A Hard Act to Swallow

Out of the Ark Music pound;19.95

www.outoftheark.com

Daniel - A Hard Act to Swallow by Margaret Carpenter is a musical for key stage 2, based on the tale of the eponymous biblical hero. A play-script and sheet music for 10 new songs are included, and a CDwith backing tracks.

Recorder Magic

A C Black pound;19.99

www.recordermagic.co.uk

Contains 138 beginners’ pieces for descant recorder with piano accompaniment, combining the contents of the original four Recorder Magic books. Teacher’s notes, downloads, games and certificates can all be obtained from the website.

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra

Chrysalis Children’s Books pound;12.99

The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Anita Ganeri gives facts and figures about the orchestra’s incarnation and the make-up of each section, information about how the orchestra has evolved over the years from choral music to symphonies and opera, and the composers who influenced the changes. “Did you know?” boxes contribute interesting trivia and a glossary of musical terms is listed at the back.

Rhinoceros Tap

Workman Publishing pound;12.99

www.workman.com

A colourful two-part book presenting 15 eccentric songs. Part one asks pupils to look and listen while part two encourages them to join in singing or playing. Recordings of all the songs are provided on the accompanying CD.

The Gruffalo Song and Other Songs

Macmillan Audio pound;5.99

This CD contains nine illustrated songs, with piano accompaniment and guitar chords, by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. The CD provides a recording of each song, sung by Julia Donaldson for those without live accompaniment.