There Once Was a Man Named Michael Finnegan

In Mary Ann Hoberman's retelling of the old song, Michael Finnegan is a street musician who plays the violin so poorly that people pay him to stop. With his newfound riches he sets off to find someone who appreciates his music.

We got this book back in 2006 as a courtesy gift from a Scholastic classroom book order when the book we really wanted was delayed and unavailable to ship. I have no record of actually ever reading this with my daughter, so this may be the first time I've read it.

I'm not impressed with the rhymes or story, but my daughter probably would have enjoyed the presence of a dog in the pages.

What a fun book! I learned the song and sang it to my grandson. It quickly became his favorite book. Not only is it fun to sing, but it also has terrific and silly pictures that are chock full of things to talk about.

I loved this silly song as a child, and to see the song portrayed with illustrations was so fun! This is a classic children's song turned into a book. It would be such a fun book to read with children in order to help them imagine what everything looks like.

I did not thoroughly enjoy this book. It was the story of Michael Finnegan and it went along with the song children sing. I feel as though it should have been a little shorter because as I was reading it I felt like it kept going on and on. It was a cute story, but it just was not a book for me. I would suggest it to other teachers if they are looking for something similar to this, but I would not keep a copy in my classroom library.

I enjoyed this book and think younger kids would too. The way the last syllables rhyme in every sentence I think makes it easier for little kids to like the book and maybe would help them remember some of the lines in the book. This could be a good book for the kids to start reading by themselves once they have heard it a few times. http://www.amazon.com/There-Named-Michael-Finnegan-Tingley/dp/0316363014