We wanted to give this book five stars. But we cannot do so.

This book is a feat. The layout is well done. The artwork is appealing and fun. The research is impressive. Songs are enhanced by informative, well-written background pieces. The array and type of songs included is vast. Glossaries are included to help modern readers. An array of folk music from many parts of the United States and the rest of the world are included. Who knew? We learned quite a few things about the genesis of songs in this volume.. Suggestions for further reading and listening are provided--a real plus.

However, while the book is beautiful and an obvious, painstaking labor of love, we cannot recommend it. Why? Some educators may not be comfortable with the type of songs included (despite their educational value) as well as the nature of some of the lyrics.

I love this book! Everything about it is wonderful from the information to the illustrations. You'll have what you expect wonderful music and quality information as well as fantastic graphics. I loved the historic and detailed information too giving more about the background of the songs. It makes it an extra special book and we recommend it. This is a well-rounded house party in a book.

This is more than a simple collection of folk songs. Each song is presented with lyrics and music of course. But w are also given contextual information. Sometimes about the culture that produced it, the meaning of some of the lyrics, historical and regional context, or information about a person strongly associated with the song. This can be quite helpful with folk music, to not only understand what we're singing but why people started singing it.

This is a cute and fun book. I love the songs and the drawings are cute too. This will be a nice addition to a kids home library or school room music book. I like how it is engaging for kids and will help with teaching them reading music as well. This will be fun for family night with young children.

Beautifully executed, this book is perfect for educators (including parents!) because it includes background information and suggestions of further reading.

Dan Zanes’ House Party! Is a songbook filled with meaningful stories and songs. Dan Zanes is a favorite of children everywhere. He engages the kids and works his magic with his songs and storytelling. This book is a wonderful collection of his songs and stories and is sure to be a hit.

This is an amazing collection of folk-songs, collected by Dan Zane.

Each one has a little explanation, the back story of either how he came to know the song, or what history he has about the song, and sometimes who was famous for singing the song.

There are songs I have sung my whole life, and never thought about, and other songs that are quite new to me. What is interseting is that Dan gave a lot of thought about what songs to include and exclude. If he found out a song was originally written for Mistral Shows, he would leave them out. If he found that the song had racial slurs, even slurs that are only slurs in one country, he would leave it out.

The book is organized in groups, such as work songs, and cowboy songs, and sea shanties, and front porch songs. The book appears to be intended to teach with, which is good, because we all need to keep learning folk songs, or they will die out.

Recommended for schools and libraries,

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

The book's description says it all, but Dan Zanes' book is much more than music. I first fell in love with Zanes and his approach about fifteen years ago. This book, illustrated by his brother-in-law, combines music, history, and a lot of Zanes into a music book that will not only entertain, but educate at the same time. Young students learning about music in school will find his book similar to their classes. Teachers are now teaching stories behind the song in terms of history, cultural events, and social reasons that helped create the song. 

There are several things that make this book stand out among other music books. Zanes includes not only the piano, but guitar chords, and an open invitation to create their own musical instruments. Music comes from within, and it doesn't always rely on playing the right note or sounding like others. In each written section that places the music in its time period and social history, Zanes also includes recommendations on books and other music to further explore the period. Creating connections between artists and mediums helps encourage the noncompetitive spirit that is so needed in the arts. 

This is a fantastic book for anyone. Thank you NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Voyager Press for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.