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!

Playlist

Nursery rhymes, folk songs, and children's songs about animals
	Title	Playlist	Review
1	Sparrows Samba		A samba piece where sparrows dance
2	Tanuki of Fist Mountain		Tanuki of Fist Mountain
3	Song of a little bird		A lullaby of little birds, a nursery rhyme filled with love
4	Elephant’s hat		The song about animals going into the elephant’s hat
5	Crocodile family		Daily life of a crocodile family, a human-like household
6	Seagull Sailor		An adorable nursery rhyme about a white seagull and a sailor
7	Old MacDonald Had a Farm		A children's song that sings animal sounds
8	Dog Policeman		The lost kitten and the troubled police dog
9	Shirokuma’s Jenka Dance		Shirokuma’s Jenka, a fun children’s song
10	aye-aye		Song of the rare creature aye-aye of Madagascar
11	Piglet-raccoon dog-fox-cat		Kobuta, Tanuki, Kitsune, Neko is a hand game song by Naosumi Yamamoto.
12	I Stepped on the Cat		A unique cat song popular with children
13	The Song of Konkonshyan		A song about animals catching colds
14	Goat Mail		A strange story where a goat eats letters
15	gluttonous gorilla		A fun song about a gorilla eating food
16	Mr. Elephant		A song about a mother and her baby elephant
17	Animal Exercises 1-2-3		Get energized with fun exercises with the animals
18	skylark skylarkwarabeuta asobi		A children’s hand-clapping game/song themed around spring birds
19	Zebra SwirlSakushi: Endou Kouzou / Sakkyoku: Inui Hiroki		A hand-clapping song about taking a zebra’s stripes off and turning it into another animal
20	Panda Rabbit Koalasakushi: takada hiroo / sakkyoku: inui hiroki		Introduction to songs featuring animals
21	The Bear of the Forest		A children's song depicting the kindness of a bear
22	Black Cat Tango		A children’s song in the style of tango, born in Italy
23	little fox		Fox-san’s stylish autumn outfit
24	Goosey, Goosey, Gander		Mother Goose, rhythmic play song
25	horse (childish/affectionate term)		A heartwarming song about the affectionate bond between a horse and its foal
26	HAPPY HONEY HORSENo-zan Ho-su Pa-ku		Parents and children have fun bonding with a horse-themed hand play song
27	Playable on easy piano! KusakeibaSakkyoku: Sutiibun Fositā		A delightful classic that captures the lightness of a horse
28	The little cowboy has arrived.Sakkyoku: Sakata Hiroo / Sakushi: Arekisu Sakkyoku Tom Tirilin Tom		Song of a Little Cowboy Galloping Across the West
29	Song of the Resounding GrasslandsSakushi: Kubota Yuzuru Sakkyoku: Maruyama Aki		A children's song from Mongolian folklore, Melody of Light and Wind
30	horse (childish/affectionate term)Sakushi: Hayashi Ryūha / Sakkyoku: Matsushima Tsune		A song story depicting the affection between a foal and its mother horse
31	KintaroSakushi: Ishihara Wasaburō / Sakkyoku: Tamura Torazō		A valiant child of Mount Ashigara’s song, with lively lyrics
32	Horse’s tail, pig’s tail.Sakushi: Abe Hitomi / Sakkyoku: Yamamoto Naozumi		An adorable nursery rhyme about a horse and a pig’s tails
33	Foal’s Rhythm PlayMonbushō shōka		A playful rhythmic chant that expresses the hoofbeats of a foal
34	All mothersamerika min’yō		The Mysterious Song of the Horse and the Piglet, a Japanese Children's Song
35	Adorable foalSakushi: Satō Hachirō / Sakkyoku: Niki Takio		A classic that warmly portrays a scene of a foal and a child
36	School of Medaka		Medaka School: Wonders Underwater
37	Spring MeadowSakushi: Sakata Hiroo Sakkyoku: Ichikawa Toshiharu		A children's song about a spring pasture where foals gallop.
38	Jungle Pocket		A fun song with lyrics about animals
39	Mountain MusiciansDoitsu min’yō		A Fun Concert by the Forest Animals
40	snail		Enjoying the rainy season with children through a snail song
41	A little leaf boat		A nursery rhyme about swallows returning south on a boat made of tree leaves
42	The Bear of the Forest		Let's enjoy learning the bear song
43	Cute Hide and SeekSakushi: Satou Hachirou／Sakkyoku: Nakata Yoshinao		A nursery rhyme about animals playing hide-and-seek
44	I Stepped on the CatSakushi / Sakkyoku: Fushou		I Stepped on the Cat: a fun song loved around the world
45	All mothers		A folk song singing about the wonders of horses and animals
46	Frog Chorus		A fun round-singing experience with the Frog Song!
47	Seven-year-old child		A masterpiece that sings about why crows cry
48	O Bureneli		A beautiful melody from Swiss folk music
49	A Little Bear in the RainSakushi: Tsurumi Masao / Sakkyoku: Yuyama Akira		An innocent tale of a cub enjoying the rain
50	Mr. Ant on an errandsakushi: Sekine Eiichi / sakkyoku: Dan Ikuma		A fun nursery rhyme depicting an ant’s walk and collisions
51	The Puppy Police OfficerSakushi: Satō Yoshimi / Sakkyoku: Ōnaka Megumi		A police dog helping a lost kitten
52	carp in a pond		A scene of a pond where people feed koi
53	Little Sumo Bear		Sumo Bear-chan’s Sumo Play
54	A tadpole is the child of a frog.		A parody song whose melody is widely known
55	Come, firefly		A captivating round with the chant of 'Hotaru koi' (Come, fireflies)
56	bug-catching game		A nostalgic bug-catching song that takes you back to your childhood
57	Dona Dona		A sad song of a calf, a timeless classic across generations
58	Panda, rabbit, koala		A fun hand-play song that expresses animal characteristics
59	Mr. ElephantSakushi: Mado Michio / Sakkyoku: Dan Ikuma		A heartwarming nursery rhyme that sings of the love between parent and child
60	Hey, Kaba-kun!sakushi: nakagawa itsuko / sakkyoku: nakagawa hirotaka		The charm of animals for children through hippopotamus songs
61	Dog PolicemanSakushi: Satō Yoshimi / Sakkyoku: Ōnaka Megumi		The song of the police dog who helps a lost kitten
62	Rabbit Dance		A fun nursery rhyme with the rhythm of a hopping rabbit
63	The monkey rowed a boat.		A fun nursery rhyme about a monkey drawing a picture of a ship
64	Giraffe		A cute song that sings about the giraffe’s characteristics
65	Whale Clock		The Song of Clocks of Various Animals
66	Zuizui Zukkorobashi		An old Japanese children’s play song featuring a mouse
67	The Turtles’ Excursion		Sing rhythmically about a turtle’s slow field trip
68	The Gorilla’s Concert		A song about a gorilla holding a concert with musical instruments
69	Draneko Rock ’n’ Roll		A fun nursery rhyme singing the boasts of a stray cat
70	Red sky at dusk		Yuyake Koyake is a representative Japanese children's song.
71	Goldfish’s Nap		The goldfish’s red tail fin looks like a kimono.
72	pigeon		The Song of the Pigeon and the Beans, a nursery rhyme loved by children
73	Zebra Swirl		A world imagined through zebra patterns
74	Squirrel squirrel little squirrel		A squirrel nursery rhyme, a nostalgic Japanese classic
75	Nanbu Cattle Drover’s Song		A folk song of Iwate, singing the spirit of Nanbu
76	Piglet-raccoon dog-fox-catsakushi sakkyoku/yamamoto naozumi		A hand-play song with animals using shiritori, hugely popular with children
77	A Rainy Day on the Ranch		A cheerful song of animals on a rainy ranch
78	Mountain Musicianssakushi: mizuta shisen / sakkyoku: doitsu min’yō		A picture book about animals enjoying music by playing instruments
79	Five ducks		Learning with a song that counts ducks
80	Five Little Pigs and Charleston		Song of the Piglet Dancing the Charleston
81	Dolphins are Zambraco		Introduction to the nursery rhyme “Jumping Creatures”
82	Boing-Boing Kangaroo		A fun kangaroo nursery rhyme—let’s all sing together!
83	A wild mouse		A mouse hand-play song, fun for everyone
84	Sparrows’ School		A cute children's song about a school of sparrows
85	Hey, Kaba-kun!		There are also picture books with cute hippo lyrics.
86	Let’s go to the zoo.		A family’s song enjoying the zoo
87	Picnic		A fun nursery rhyme sung with animals
88	Mountain Waltz		Waltz of the Animals at the Mountain Kindergarten
89	Mountain Musicians		A fun nursery rhyme where animals play musical instruments