How Are Books Used in Music Therapy? “We All Go Traveling By”

Blog by Katja Beebe, MT-BC

The book We All Go Traveling By was written by Sheena Roberts, illustrated by Siobhan Bell, and originally sung by Fred Penner.

Have you ever wondered how a music therapist uses books in their practice? In this blog, I want to share how I use the book We All Go Traveling By to work on my students non-musical goals. We All Go Traveling By is a well known song story that is a favorite of many children and music therapists. From cars, boats, and planes, to the shoes on your feet, this book features different ways that people get from place to place, and in this case get to school! It's a perfect way to practice many skills such as sequencing, visual attention, cooperative play, movement, and so much more with a fun, dynamic, and colorful book!

Listen to the song below:

There are many ways that I adapt this book to fit the individual needs and goals of my students through movement, instrument play, and answering questions.

Movement to Music

Whether it's a group of students or a 1:1 session, I absolutely love pairing movements with each of the different vehicles to encourage sustained engagement, following directions, sensory stimulation, and addressing working memory skills.

• This book follows a sequencing format. It presents one vehicle after another and encourages children to remember what came before.

• When a new vehicle is introduced and added to the lineup, I first sing and play through the new line. 

• Then, I demonstrate the movement for that vehicle by modeling and singing the sounds that the book assigns to the vehicle. 

• When “the yellow school bus goes “beep-beep-beep”” we pat the floor/desk with a flat hand to pretend like they are honking a horn; or “a big white plane goes “neeeeooowwww”” we put both arms straight out from their side and move them up and down like a see-saw to pretend to fly like a plane. 

• Students may need various levels of support to aid in their gross motor movements and to remember the moves for each vehicle as the list of vehicles gets longer as they get further into the book. With different musical, visual, and modeling supports, students are eager and excited to join in on the fun!

Playing Instruments

Using an instrumental approach works great in group settings! I use visual cards of each vehicle paired with the sound assigned to them in the book (ex: picture of a school bus with “beep-beep-beep” under it). 

• Before we start, I give each student a vehicle visual.

• Next, I will pass out different instruments to each student that coordinate with the vehicle they have. These instruments will make the sounds that emulate the vehicle sound on their card so that every student will be able to engage and hear/play the different sounds that are mentioned in the book. 

• Below are some examples of instrument-vehicle pairings:

Finger Cymbals are played for the “shiny pink bike that goes ‘ring-ring-ring.’”

Rhythm sticks are for the “bright red truck that goes ‘rumble-rumble-rumble.’”

The cabasa is for the “long blue train that goes chuf-chuf-chuf.’”

While we sing along and new vehicles (instruments) are introduced, the student with the corresponding instrument card will then play their instrument at that time in the song, as well as everytime I sing their vehicle throughout the book. In this activity, we are working on:

• Cooperative play skills

• Turn taking 

• Impulse control

Answering Questions

Other academic skills can be targeted as well through this book by asking specific “wh” questions (both before and/or after reading through the page) such as: 

• What sounds does ____ make?

• What color is the ____?

•  Where is the ____?

• What vehicle is next?

• What comes after/before ____?

This is one of my favorite books to use with my students because it is so active, visually stimulating, and musically/lyrically engaging. It can be adapted and used for so many different ages and abilities, and it will remain a staple in my practice as a music therapist for a long time!

If there is a child in your life who you believe may benefit from music therapy, do not hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!