All God's Children Sing: The Children's Music Resource

Desmond Maley is a librarian at the J.W. Tate Library, Laurentian
University.

Church music directors will welcome the appearance of this children’s
song collection, which is intended for use throughout the liturgical
year. Compiled under the auspices of the United Church of Canada, it
consists of 96 children’s songs by contemporary American and Canadian
Christian songwriters as well as a variety of traditional folk sources.
Many will recognize such traditional songs as “If You’re Happy,”
“Kum ba yah,” “Simple Gifts,” and “Amen.” But most of the
songs are original, and the book includes four songs by popular
children’s entertainer Raffi.

Editor Sharon L. Beckstead, music director at Highlands United Church
in Edmonton, tells us that children were involved in the whole process
of evaluating material and selecting the final contents. Each song
consists of the melody with chord symbols and simple piano
accompaniment. Some of the songs have suggestions for dance steps. They
deal with such themes as Bible stories, faith, service, and peace and
justice. A biblical index also points to readings from Scripture. There
is a generous selection of songs for young children and young
children’s chorus.

An annual licence fee accompanies this excellent volume. The sliding
scale of fees is based on the congregation’s weekly worship
attendance. Thus, the annual fee for congregations whose attendance is
from 500 to 999 is $150 plus GST. Those who pay the fee are entitled to
use the music in any way they wish for their congregation or parish.
They also receive a complete set of the songs designed for copying into
church bulletins and overheads. But if the licence is allowed to expire,
all copies made under the licence must be discarded.