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"Monty Harper is known for his library friendly songs"
- School Library Journal

 

Monty Harper Biography

“Vibrant images of a child's world are a hallmark of Mr. Harper's work,” says Dave Kinnoin of SongWizard Records, “and his prolific playfulness delights the child in all of us.” Based in Stillwater, Oklahoma, where he lives with his wife and six-year-old daughter, Harper has been writing, recording, and performing songs for kids since 1989.

Harper's fifth and latest recording, Paws Claws Scales & Tales, has garnered many rave reviews and awards including a Parents' Choice Recommended Award, a NAPPA Honors Award, and a Children's Music Web Award.

Harper began creating music for kids as a way to combine various interests such as writing, music, performance, and working with children. After completing his master's degree in mathematics at Oklahoma State University (just in case) he immediately began to explore the possibility of children's music as a career.

In the ensuing years, Harper has engaged many thousands of children with his interactive programs at libraries and schools throughout Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. He is one of the most often booked performers on the Oklahoma Arts Council Touring Roster and has penned many songs for clients such as The Oklahoma Department of Libraries and the LAUSD Nutrition Network. Harper's award-winning recordings are available at CDBaby.com, Amazon.com, and iTunes.

Harper is currently touring libraries and schools with his "Oklahoma CenTUNEial Celebration," a collection of original songs celebrating the colorful history and diverse people of the state of Oklahoma.

 

 

Monty's Reading Connection

Monty Harper began his children's music career with volunteer performances at his home town public library. He enjoyed sharing his own enthusiasm for books and reading with the kids so much that he began writing songs especially for upcoming summer program themes. In a few short years Harper was one of the most sought after acts on the Oklahoma summer library circuit.

Harper has written and recorded four collections of songs for the Oklahoma Department of Libraries: Blast Into Books, Magical Madcap Tour, I'd Sooner Read, and Stampede to Read. Each was distributed to public libraries throughout Oklahoma for use with their reading programs. Many of the songs from these collections are now available on the Reading Songs Volume I: Blast Into Books CD.

Harper is adept at writing songs that grab kids' attention and celebrate reading in imaginative ways. From a "Great Green Squishy Mean Bibliovore" who learns to appreciate books as more than mere snacks to an alien who demands, "Take Me to Your Library," Harper's songs are filled with characters and situations that vividly depict the reading of a good book as an adventure worth pursuing.

Harper's own favorite books and series include Green Eggs and Ham, The Great Brain, The BFG, Nate the Great, Junie B. Jones, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte's Web, Bartimaeus, and Harry Potter.

 

 

Performance Schedule

To book Monty at your library, inquire here.

 

 

June, 2008

6/2/2008
Sand Springs, OK - Harry Pratt Library at 1:00 PM & 2:00 PM

6/3/2008
Tulsa, OK - Zarrow Regional Library at 2:00 PM

6/6/2008
Moore, OK - Buck Thomas Memorial Park at 7:00 PM

6/9/2008
Okeene, OK - Okeene Public Library at 10:00 AM

6/9/2008
Watonga, OK - Watonga Public Library at 2:00 PM

6/10/2008
Pryor, OK - Pryor Public Library at 10:30 AM and 2:00 PM

6/11/2008
* McAlester, OK - McAlester Public Library at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM

6/12/2008
Ada, OK - Hugh Warren Memorial Library at 10:30 AM

6/17/2008
Fort Gibson, OK - QB Boydstun Library at 10:30 AM

6/17/2008
Checotah, OK - Jim Lucas/Checotah Public Library at 2:00 PM

6/19/2008
Stillwater, OK - Stillwater Public Library at 10:00 AM, 1:30 PM, and 3:30 PM

6/26/2008
* Perry, OK - Perry Carnegie Library at 10:00 AM

6/26/2008
Mustang, OK - Mustang Public Library at 2:00 PM & 7:00 PM

 

July, 2008

7/1/2008
Collinsville, OK - Collinsville Library at 2:00 PM

7/9/2008
Chetopa, KS - Chetopa City Library at 10:00 AM

7/9/2008
Galena, KS - Galena Public Library at 2:00 PM

7/10/2008
Baxter Springs, KS - Johnston Public Library at 10:00 AM

7/10/2008
Pittsburg, KS - Pittsburg Public Library at 1:00 PM

7/10/2008
Fort Scott, KS - Fort Scott Public Library at 3:30 PM

7/14/2008
Norman, OK - Norman Public Library at 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM

7/16/2008
Sand Springs, OK - Charles Page Library at 10:30 AM

7/22/2008
Piedmont, OK - Piedmont Library at 10:00 AM

7/24/2008
Duncan, OK - Duncan Public Library at 11:00 AM

 

October, 2008

10/10/2008
Muskogee, OK - Oklahoma School For the Blind at 12:20 PM

 

* Events marked with an asterisk are made possible with assistance from the Oklahoma Arts Council.

 

More

These links will take you to other Monty Harper related websites...

 

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