Review: Beginner Guitar For Kids

I’ve reviewed a lot of guitar learning material for this site, and most kids guitar books fall into one of two categories:

1. Too dry to hold a child’s attention past the first lesson,
2. or so dumbed-down they barely teach anything useful. 

Beginner Guitar for Kids by Tom Fontana landed on my desk (well, my screen) a few weeks back, and I’ll say this upfront, it doesn’t fit neatly into either of those boxes.

Tom has been teaching guitar for over 25 years and built this book alongside his 12-year-old son, which you can kind of feel in how it’s put together.

Whether that makes it the right beginner kids guitar book for your child, that depends on a few things.

Let me break it down.

How the Book Works

Tom Fontana has been teaching guitar for a long time, and you can kind of feel that experience in how the content is laid out.

It builds logically. andnothing gets thrown at you randomly.​

The book runs across five parts:

• Part 1 covers the basics: guitar types (acoustic, classical, electric), parts of the instrument, how to size a guitar for a kid, strings, tuning, gear. Parents with zero guitar knowledge will find this section actually helpful, not condescending.
• Parts 2-4 are the real lessons, starting with C and G7 chords, then moving to tablature reading, then adding the G major and D major chords once kids have a feel for switching.​
• Part 5 is the songbook, 35+ songs.​

By the time a kid reaches the songbook they’ve learned four chords, basic note reading, how to count rhythm, and finger warmups called Spider Walks.

That’s a real foundation.

Each section ends with a “Ready to move on?” checklist which I think is one of the smarter structural choices in here. It tells kids (and whatever adult is hovering nearby) whether they’ve actually absorbed something before moving forward (instead of just flipping pages because they’re bored).​

You probably know from experience that it is easier ot move on than to do something at 100%, which is what these sections are meant to mitigate.

There’s also a “Guitar Lesson Trail” coloring page where kids color a block after each practice session and set goals every 10 sessions.

This single page may actually be one of the best motivation tools in the whole book, especially for the 6-10 age range.​

Online Material: QR Codes on Almost Every Page

This is probably where the book stands out most clearly against other beginner kids guitar books. Scattered throughout, almost on every song and exercise, are QR codes linking to video lessons and backing tracks on GuitarPlayground.com.​​

What makes the videos a little unusual is that Tom’s 12-year-old son Milan appears in them alongside the instruction.

Watching a real kid, not just a polished adult teacher, work through the same chords and make similar mistakes seems to help young learners stay motivated. It appears to remove some of the “I’m the only one struggling” feeling that makes a lot of kids quit early.​

The backing tracks let kids play along with actual music behind them. When a kid can strum two chords over a real track, it stops feeling like homework and becomes fun.​

One thing to keep in mind, the online content requires a device nearby during practice. For most families that’s a non-issue but if screen time is tightly managed in your house, it may create some friction.

Worth thinking about before you buy.​

Fun Aspects for Kids

The book puts in real effort here and it shows. A few things stood out to me:

• The Song Progress Tracker and the coloring trail are visual, tactile, and give kids something to “complete” beyond just playing a song correctly​
• Two ways to play every song: melody (single notes, better for solo practice) or chords (strumming, better for playing with other people and singing along). This is a good call. Not every kid wants to strum nursery rhymes alone in their room​
• Every song has a “Watch and Listen” note before it that explains what’s coming, like “you’ll be moving between strings” or “this song is in 3/4 time.” That kind of heads-up reduces confusion, which is usually what makes kids give up mid-song​
• A printed certificate of achievement at the end. Small, yes. But for a 9-year-old who just finished a whole book, it may mean more than you’d think​
• The Spider Walk warmups are framed as finger exercises, not drills, which kids seem to take to better than “practice scales for 5 minutes”​

The songbook has Mary Had a Little Lamb, Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Old MacDonald, Happy Birthday, When the Saints Go Marching In, Amazing Grace, Yankee Doodle, and roughly 25 more.

All familiar, all recognizable to kids, which is the point. TheGuitarLesson.com’s list of guitar books lists this as their top pick for ages 6-12, specifically citing the interactive design and the mix of melody and chord options.​​

Who Should Get It

This book it seems is strongest for kids aged 6-12 with zero experience. Most guitar educators suggest ages 6-8 is around when kids develop the finger strength and coordination to start on a stringed instrument. Starting too early often just breeds frustration.​

Here’s a quick breakdown:

Profile	Good Fit?
Ages 6-10, complete beginner	Yes, strongly
Ages 11-12, no prior experience	Yes, though the songbook skews young
Age 13+	No, songs are too childish
Kid learning mostly on their own	Probably fine, QR codes help a lot
Kid with a parent who plays guitar	Great, lots to work on together
Kid who already knows basic chords	Too basic, skip to Book 2
Adults wanting to start guitar	No, this is built for children

A few honest caveats. The book works better with some adult involvement, at least in the first few weeks. The videos help, but a young first-time player still needs someone to check whether they’re pressing the strings correctly, otherwise bad habits form fast and they’re harder to undo later.

But that’s not a flaw in the book, it’s just the nature of learning a physical skill with kids.

Also, if your kid is motivated primarily by rock or pop, the song list here may lose them within a few weeks. Nursery rhymes and folk standards are smart pedagogy for this age range, but they don’t always feel exciting to a 10-year-old who wants to play something off a playlist.

The F chord shows up a few times as an optional challenge near the end, with a note saying to substitute a C if it’s too hard. I think that’s the right call, the F chord trips up even adult beginners, and forcing it early can tank motivation fast.​

Overall, as a beginner kids guitar book, it is a well thought-out package. The structure is logical, the online material adds genuine value, and the design keeps kids engaged longer than most books I’ve seen.

If your child is between 6 and 12 and has been asking about guitar, I’d say it may be worth starting here.

Get it from Amazon.