Books, music & teaching inspiration
Connect your classroom with stories and music
Discover book reviews, classroom ideas, and teaching resources that bring stories and music history into your lessons.
Explore Black Music History
Bring Black music history into your classroom with teaching resources from The Musical Librarian, available on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Blues Music Unit
Explore blues history and famous artists with worksheets and quizzes for Grades 4–8.
Louis Armstrong
Connect jazz history and literacy with a biography and reading comprehension resource.
From the Blog
Teaching Swing by Kwame Alexander: Grade 8 Teacher Prep
An accessible verse novel takes an unexpectedly serious turn. Explore friendship, relationships, military trauma, police violence, and grief, with teacher-preparation notes and considerations for Grade 8 literature circles.
Is Ace of Spades Appropriate for Middle School? A Teacher’s Review
Consider racism, power, identity, and belonging through a suspenseful school story, with attention to mature content and the preparation teachers need before recommending it to students.
Teaching Posted by John David Anderson: Grade 6–8 Teacher Prep
Explore friendship, bullying, belonging, and the power of words, with teaching considerations for conversations about how students communicate and the impact their messages can have on others.
A love of books. A background in music.
Teaching through stories and music
I’m Margaret, the educator behind The Musical Librarian. After years teaching music, English, and library, I created this space to share book reviews, classroom ideas, and teaching resources.
Here, my love of stories and music comes together—including resources that help teachers bring Black music history into their classrooms.
Find inspiration for your next lesson
Explore classroom reading ideas or discover teaching resources that bring Black music history into your lessons.