Jumpin' Jim's Ukulele Island: 31 Tropical Tunes Arranged for Uke

I am an advanced beginner ukulele player with more skills in guitar and piano than the ukulele, so I thought this book would be a nice place to start. From that perspective, here is what I think:Pros:Some good songs. I especially like The Ballad of Gilligan's Island.A wide variety of songs. Songs are from a wide variety of eras (from traditional to late 20th century). They are also written in a wide variety of complexities, from simple to impossible (for me).Cons:There are a number of mistakes. "Brazil" for instance, lists a chord as an A. The chord cannot be an A. Maybe an A7 if you add a finger, but never an A. The same with the bar C chord in another song. They left a finger off. There are also mistakes in the lyrics. "I Can See Clearly Now" should read "blue skies", not "blue sky", for example. Just a lot of little tiny things that add up.It would be nice to have a strumming suggestion for each song. Which pattern would sound best for any particular song? The book does have some strumming patterns at the beginning.The measures are not even. This is a minor thing, but it messes me up. There is no bar on the left side, which is problematic, and some measures are 2" or more long, while others are 0.5" long. It all depends upon the number of notes in the measure.Overall, I can play a few songs from the book decently, but a lesson book would probably be more my speed.

Well, got this today, not bad. I wasn't paying attention and thought there was a CD included, there isn't.The book is 6 3/4 x 10 1/2Lots of chord patterns and strum suggestions.The songs include;Bali Ha'IThe Ballad of Gilligan's IsleBeyond The SeaBrazilBrown Eyed GirlDay-O (The Banana Boat Song)Don't Worry Be HappyEnjoy Yourself (It's Later Than You Think)The Girl From IpanemaHanalei MoonI Can See Clearly NowI'm Carrying A Tiki Torch For YouIn A Little Hula HeavenJamaica FarewellKeep Your Eyes On The HandsLimbo RockThe Magic IslandsMargaritavilleMarianne (All Day, All Night, Marianne)The Moon of ManakooraNow Is The Hour (Maori Farewell Song)On and On (Down in Jamaica (Stephen Bishop))On A Slow Boat To ChinaOne Note Samba (Samba Du Uma Nota So)Poinciana (Song Of The Tree)Samba BaSong of the IslandsSway (Quien Sera)Three Little Birds (Bob Marley)Volcano (Jimmy Buffett)Yellow BirdWould like to have had a CD to hear the songs on the Uke, but I'm sure after the RIAA got their cut, the book would cost 100s of dollars. :|

Good book. Good songs

I first picked this book up when buying a Ukulele in Hawaii. This purchase was for a friend.I'm a guitar player so initially this book got me quickly playing some popular tunes. There are several very complex tunes in it also. The chord chart page is great, I use it for reference when playing from music with no chord diagrams. Enjoy!

Its good book but mostly songs i dont know

Wish there were more well-known tunes.

Happy, fun songs in this book. Love it!!!

Lots of good old songs for the summer. Loads of fun to play. Some songs are easy enough for a rank beginner. Others may take a bit of practice, but are do-able. The only thing that would make this better is a CD to play along with. This is a must have book in any uke players colection.