I’ve messed around with a lot of kids guitar books over the years, both in lessons and at home with younger relatives, so I’m kind of picky about them.
I came across Beginner Guitar For Kids by Tom Fontana at a friend's house who got it for his son.
Obviously I had a better look, and in short, it feels like a kids guitar book that actually tries to meet kids where they’re at, not where adults wish they were.
Contents
TL;DR – should you buy this beginner kids guitar book?
If you’re a parent googling “beginner kids guitar book” at 11pm after your kid suddenly “needs a guitar”, this one is honestly a solid option, even if you don’t play a single chord yourself.
It’s laid out in 5 clear parts, has a big chunk of very familiar songs, and connects to online video lessons on GuitarPlayground.com, so your kid (and probably you) can see and hear what to do instead of guessing from still pictures.
From my point of view as a guitarist:
- It may feel simple to you, but the structure will probably make sense to a 7–10 year old.
- The song list leans heavily on classics like “Mary Had a Little Lamb”, “Twinkle Twinkle”, “Old MacDonald”, “Jingle Bells”, and “Amazing Grace”, so kids recognize stuff right away, which matters a lot for motivation.
- There’s a “Guitar Lesson Trail” page and a “Song Progress Tracker”, which sounds small, but havin 2 kids, I know they love coloring boxes and checking off songs, as well as hearing “good job for X”.
- The colorful fun design a great for kids in this age range. Even the imags of the chord are photographed with a child's hand.
It’s not perfect for older kids though, who already want rock riffs might roll their eyes at some of the nursery‑rhyme songs, and a child with a year of lessons may find it slow in places.
But as a true starting point, I think you’ll find it does more right than wrong.
What’s actually inside this guitar book for children?
The book is broken into 5 main parts, and I kind of like how straightforward it is. There’s not a ton of fluff, it just walks through the basics in a way that appears pretty digestible for kids.
Part 1 – Getting started
Part 1 covers the “how does this thing even work” stage:
- The three main guitar types (acoustic, classical, electric) in plain language, with photos.
- Parts of the guitar: body, neck, headstock, soundhole, bridge, fretboard, fret markers, tuners, nut.
- Choosing the right size guitar, which is a big deal if your kid is 6 or 7 and you’re tempted to hand them a full‑size dreadnought just because it was cheap.
- Strings, tuning (with a link to an online tunder!), a bit about guitar gear, and how to hold the guitar properly.
As a teacher, I’ve noticed kids who start with the wrong size guitar or bad posture often struggle with basic chords for months. A book that pauses to talk about size and holding position is trying to avoid that pretty common mistake.
Part 2 – First chords & songs
This is where it starts to feel like “hey, I’m playing music”:
- Introduces what chords and chord charts are.
- Teaches C and G7 chords, then C–G7 chord changes.
- Talks about time signatures, so kids don’t just randomly strum without any sense of beat.
I like that it gets a simple chord going early. For a lot of kids, strumming even a basic C chord while singing a bit of a song is more satisfying than playing only single‑note exercises for weeks.
Oh, and the book uses single finger chords, so not the large full chords an adult would learn.
This is awesome, as it makes it much-much easier for kids to play chords.
Part 3 – Playing melodies
Here the book shifts into single‑note playing:
- Shows basic music notes and tablature (tabs), which most kids find easier than full standard notation.
- Brings in the “one finger per fret” idea, so they don’t crowd all fingers into one position or stretch in weird ways.
It may sound like a tiny thing, but getting that one‑finger‑per‑fret habit early can prevent a lot of bad form later, specially when songs get faster.
Part 4 – More chords & a bit of technique
Part 4 adds some new skills that open a lot of doors:
- New chords: G and D, plus C–G changes.
- A “Chord Changes for 1000+ Songs” page, which basically hints at that fun reality that tons of songs use very similar chord progressions.
- A “Spider Walk” exercise on strings 1–3 to work on finger independence and coordination.
I use spider‑type exercises all the time, and kids weirdly enjoy them if you frame it like a little finger‑gym challenge, not a boring drill.
Part 5 – The kids songbook section
This is the part your kid will probably flip to over and over. The songbook has 35 songs categorized based on 3 difficulty levels.
Obviously it's best to go through them in order, as they get harder and harder. Songs include:
- Mary Had A Little Lamb,
- Bingo,
- Happy Birthday,
- Ode to Joy,
- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
- Rain Rain Go Away,
- Pop! Goes the Weasel,
- Alphabet Song,
- Jingle Bells,
- Hokey Pokey,
- Silent Night
- London Bridge,
- Hot Cross Buns,
- Amazing Grace,
- Down By The Bay,
- Drunken Sailor,
- When the Saints Go Marching In,
- Humpty Dumpty
- and more, but I think you get the idea.
Each song comes with chord diagrams and simple tabs. In examples like “Alphabet Song” or “Old MacDonald”, there are instructions about counting rhythm (quarter notes, half notes, eighth notes, dotted quarters, etc.), which nudges kids to actually count and not just guess the timing.
Most of the chord versions use C, G, G7, D on the top 3 strings, so the fretting hand doesn’t have to stretch all over the neck. That’s a smart choice; if a kid’s hand hurts every time they play, they’ll quietly stop picking up the guitar.
So as you can see, the songs are all children's songs.
Teaching kids 10 and under, I've noticed that these songs resonate with them more, than modern pop songs, for example.
This is the opposite for teenagers though, so these songs wouldn't be suitable for a 13 year old who wants to learn guitar. More like "That's so for babies" 😉
Videos, QR codes & practice motivation
The print book ties into online content, which is honestly where a lot of the “this makes sense” factor comes from, specially if you as the parent aren’t a guitarist.
How the video side helps
Fontana runs GuitarPlayground, where he and his 12‑year‑old son Milan teach kids with short, song‑based video lessons. The book is set up to plug into that world, usually via QR codes or short links, so your child can:
- Watch how to hold the guitar, where to place fingers on chords, and how the strumming hand should move.
- Hear each song at a reasonable speed, then sometimes slower, so they can match pitch and rhythm.
- Play along with backing tracks or “band” versions in some materials, which helps timing and makes practice less lonely.
Common mistake here: parents hand a kid a book and a guitar and basically hope the kid will invent proper technique by themselves, which, they won’t.
Having video examples, even short ones, dramatically lowers the chance of learning weird hand positions that cause pain or buzzing strings for months. If the parents is also there to check, it is even better.
More extras: Practice trail & progress tracker
Two small but nice extras:
- A “Guitar Lesson Trail” page with 50 practice boxes kids can color, ideally a box per day, with mini rewards around every 10th session.
- A Song Progress Tracker where they can tick off songs once they can play them through.
It appears simple, but I’ve seen kids who are way more consistent when they can see their streak, versus kids who practice whenever someone remembers to nag them.
Tear out that lesson trail, stick it on their wall to see, and they'll want to get more and more colored boxes. It's elementary my dear Watson.
Quick comparison with other beginner kids guitar books
There are other kids guitar books out there.
Here are a few that are worth mentioning.
Here’s a simple table to see how this one stacks up against a couple of other common options teachers and parents run into.
| Book / Method | Age sweet spot | Focus | Songs & style | Video / audio | Good fit for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner Guitar For Kids (Fontana) | 6–12 | Chords + tabs, kids songs, bite‑sized steps | 35+ classic kids tunes, simple folk & holiday songs, colorful book | Online video & audio | Parents who want a guided kids guitar book”with clear structure and visual rewards |
| Beginner Guitar Lessons for Kids (Wamsted) | 6–12 | Chords + tabs, kids songs | Short exercises plus simple tunes, long text, black and white | Video | Very young kids, usually with a teacher or involved parent |
| Guitar For Kids (Hal Leaonard) | 8–13 | Technique and melody, some chords, more style variety | Mix of kids pieces plus rock/pop‑ish tracks, black and white | Audio | Older kids who want more modern‑sounding material after basics |
If you mainly care about a beginner kids guitar book that doesn’t overwhelm a younger child but still teaches real chords, reading simple tabs, and basic rhythm, Fontana’s book sits in a pretty practical middle ground.
Who I think this kids guitar book suits best
From my point of view, this book is ideal for:
- Kids who are roughly in the 6–12 range, with zero or almost zero guitar experience.
- Parents who want a structured path but don’t feel confident teaching guitar themselves.
- Teachers who like having a colorful, kid‑friendly method with a built‑in songbook to pull from in lessons.
It is not great for:
- A teenager who already listens to heavy rock and wants power chords and riffs in week one. They’ll probably find the kids songs a bit childish.
- A student who already plays full open chords comfortably and can change between them at speed; they may fly through this too quickly and get bored.
For most “my kid wants to try guitar” situations though, it appears like a reasonable, safe starting point that encourages short daily practice, real songs, and decent technique habits without drowning anyone in theory.
