Wee Sing Children's Songs and Fingerplays

The highly successful Wee Sing series of books and audiocassettes is the creation of Pamela Conn Beall and her coauthor Susan Nipp. Parents appreciate the books as wholesome entertainment that encourages self-confidence and freedom of expression. Teachers welcome them as an educational tool that blends the joy of music with creativity and language show more development. Beall is a mother and a former music teacher with a strong commitment to keeping classic songs for children alive. She believed in the importance of music for bringing children an uplifting, joyful learning experience that led to her collaboration on a handwritten songbook. Beall's and Nipp's original series has grown into a sing-along audiocassette series with more than 15 titles. A videocassette series with more than 10 titles was launched in 1985. The subjects are varied-from America to nursery rhymes, from dinosaurs to silly songs-but the theme is constant. These are enriching songs, stories, and activities that show children the beauty and wonder around them. Beall has a B.A. in music with a minor in education from Oregon State University and has taught elementary music in the Portland area. Beall lives in Oswego, Oregon. (Bowker Author Biography) show less

Susan Hagen Nipp was born and raised in Spokane, Washington. Nipp studied piano and flute and was in her high school and college band, orchestra, and choir. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in music with a minor in education from Whitworth College in Spokane. Pam Beall and Susan Nipp met in 1972 while taking graduate music classes in show more Portland, Oregon, where they were elementary music teachers. Nipp and Beall created the Wee Sing Series in 1977, when they realized that while many people remember the first words of classic children's songs, most could not remember every word and note. In order to keep this music alive, the creators hand wrote a song book containing many old favorites. The authors invested $200 and distributed the books throughout the Pacific Northwest. Their immediate success helped pioneer a resurgence in traditional children's music and prompted expansion to audiocassettes. Two years and 20,000 copies later, their book was acquired by Price Stern Sloan, an imprint of Penguin Group, USA. In 1981, they addied audiocassettes to their established songbook collection. In 1985, another new sensation occurred as the first Wee Sing video was produced. Most of the videos were produced in Portland, Oregon, by Poulshock Productions. Wee Sing has been going strong for over 25 years with more than 60 titles having been created in different formats including songbooks, cassettes, CDs, coloring/activity books, toys, and videos. Over 50 million product items have been sold around the world. (Bowker Author Biography) show less