Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-7. Spacious watercolors depicting animal musicians in formal evening dress enhance this charming introduction to the orchestra. Succinct one-page treatments, organized by musical families (strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion) and emphasizing the relationships within each one ("The piccolo, the little sister to the flute, loves attention and always gets it"), highlight the hard-to-define sounds made by 15 instruments. The descriptive writing has immediacy ("Its cool tones melt in your ears just like ice cream melts in your mouth"), while the artwork has a subtle sense of color and humor that increases the fun of trying to predict the most logical partnerships (a female fox plays the "nimble and quick" clarinet, a walrus strums the "booming" string bass). This should prove useful, particularly to young students choosing an instrument. ~--Julie Corsaro
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Working within the framework of an evening at the symphony--the title page features concert-goers buying tickets, the last page shows musicians and audience members heading home--these collaborators have drummed up a treasure of a book for musically inclined children. Each instrument of the orchestra--from oboes and violas to tubas, trumpets and timpani--is explained, with clear definitions as well as more subjective information as to how each one sounds (the clarinet's ``cool tones melt in your ears just like ice cream melts in your mouth''). Thompson's illustrations are sumptuously silly--but musically correct--featuring an array of formally dressed animal musicians (check out the otter in tails on the piccolo). Readers also meet the conductor and learn his role, and are treated to a glimpse of the orchestra seated and in full cry. It's a smashing introduction to classical music, and a must prior to a first visit to the symphony. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-- An attractive, well-planned book that introduces the orchestra's families (groups of like instruments) and its members. In clear and understandable prose, each instrument's function, especially as it relates to the other members of its family, and its sound are described in sometimes poetic phrases--``its song can be bright as laughter, light as air, soft as a whisper, or sad as a tear.'' Single- or double-page spreads feature a large watercolor illustration of an animal playing the instrument under discussion. Although most are aptly chosen for their instruments--a polar bear playing a bassoon and a lion as the conductor--some are disconcerting. The sight of a chimpanzee in a pink dress and frilly pantaloons sitting at a grand piano lessens the effectiveness of that instrument's description. Overall, however, these creatures add a lively note and enable the book to be friendly and accessible without exhibiting the overriding silliness found in Eugen's Orchestranimals (Scholastic, 1989). A good book to use in the classroom as well as individually, this is a collaboration between two artists whose love for music and the orchestra is evident throughout. --Jane Marino, White Plains Pub . Lib . , NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Descriptions of musical instruments are accompanied by watercolors of animals playing them. Although the text is sometimes superb, the animals tend to be expressionless. But the endpapers are beautiful, and the animal choices are inspired. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
