Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about animals
We’ve put together a collection of children’s songs that almost everyone has heard at least once, like “Elephant,” “The Policeman Dog,” and “Aye-Aye.” Because they’re made for little kids, looking at the lyrics again really shows their pleasing sound, easy-to-follow stories, and skillful word choices.
Famous nursery rhymes that have been sung for generations are perfect for parents and children to sing together.
This time, we’ve also selected many songs that you can do hand motions with, so be sure to enjoy singing along together!
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Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about animals (71–80)
Mountain Musicianssakushi: mizuta shisen / sakkyoku: doitsu min’yō
The song “Mountain Musicians” is delightful for its depictions of various animals playing instruments.
Even if you’ve never seen those instruments in real life, you can really sense how much the animals enjoy performing.
When singing with children, try miming playing the violin or blowing the flute.
The lyrics are a bit long for two-year-olds, so it’s best to take your time and help them learn the words little by little.
It’s also fun to fully get into character as each animal and make it a pretend play activity!
Five ducks
How about having little children sing this as a way to learn numbers? It’s a slightly sad nursery rhyme in which, as the song goes on, one baby duckling gets lost at a time.
But don’t worry—by the end, they all come back.
Five Little Pigs and Charleston
This song was released in 1962 as a single by the singer Kayoko Moriyama.
“Charleston” refers to a dance that was popular in America in the 1920s.
The song, which tells of five little piglets dancing the Charleston, spread throughout Japan as a lively children’s tune.
Children’s songs, folk songs, and nursery rhymes about animals (81–90)
Dolphins are Zambraco
This is a nursery rhyme featuring creatures that jump.
Even if you haven’t heard it before, it might evoke a sense of nostalgia.
The composer is Masashi Wakamatsu, a musician from Keio University, and the lyrics were written by Tatsuo Higashi, also known for penning the choral piece “Riding a Balloon to Anywhere.”
Boing-Boing Kangaroo
It’s a slightly unusual nursery rhyme that sings about kangaroos.
The lively melody makes it fun just to listen to, which is great.
The animation in the video is cute, too.
It’s an animal song that makes you want everyone to listen, sing along, and dance to the music.
A wild mouse
This is an animal song beloved as a hand-play song in kindergartens and nursery schools.
As the song progresses, the number of mice increases one by one, and by the end there’s a big commotion with five mice.
You can watch a video for a hand-play demo, but it might be fun to try your own arrangement as well.
Sparrows’ School
This song was created by composer Ryutaro Hirota from Kochi Prefecture and poet Katsura Shimizu.
It was published in 1922 in the children’s magazine “Shōjo-gō” and became widely known.
The song describes scenes from a school for sparrows.
The lyrics imitating their chirping are quite charming.