Customer Reviews

The Classical Kids Collection: Volume 2: Tales of Enchantment and Classical Music

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We've had the CDs in this boxed set for over a year now. The Classical Kids series has been wonderful. We have two boys (now 6 and 8) and this has been a great introduction to classical music. At first, the kids loved the stories that surround the music. The stories provide a sense of history and place and, ultimately, we found that they keep the kids interested in the entire CD. As they listened (time and time again) to the stories, they started to pay more attention to the musical portions that are in the background or that break up portions of the stories.

Recently, we've been able to tell that they've picked up a sense of the music as we've listed to classical music on the car radio. Time and again, they perk up when listening to a piece of music and surprise us by saying "That's Beethoven". Sure enough - they've picked up something about the style of music that's characteristic of Beethoven. Sometimes it's the snippet of music from the CD and other times it's just the rhythms that are characteristic of that piece. As a family, we all recommend this.

Okay, maybe the Amazon title doesn't describe exactly what you are getting, an incrediby kid-oriented story with classical music playing in the background. But these stories use a kid's imagination and really interest them in a composer. My children beg to hear Tchaicovsky! (I know my spelling is wrong). "Mommy, please don't play your music; I want to hear Tchicovsky again." (for the fourth time in a row!) How many kids beg for you to buy Swan Lake so they can hear how it ends? I think this CD creates a love of classical music in a way that kids can enjoy. Good long trip tape, although I have had to sit in my driveway for them to hear the end of a story after coming home from school.

In Collection 2 you get Song of the Unicorn (medievel music), Mozart's Magnificent Voyage, Tchaikovsky Discovers America, and Hallelujah Handel. My kids especially loved The Song of the Unicorn, and Mozart's Magnificent Vogage because the stories are compelling.

I love these! I got them on tape many years ago. It's a great way to get to know the composers and their music in an entertaining way. I'm now twenty and a piano performance major and I still listen to them.

This is an excellent beginning for classsical music, and supplement. It does not replace a classical music education , but for those who have no idea where to start, this is fun and is excellent for those with short, short attention spans or are used to the Brittany Spears generation. For those with an extensive music background, it is limited to the quite young.

All of the CDs in this collection and Volume 1 are simply wonderful. I love to hear my five year old ask, "Mommy, can we listen to Vivaldi?" Or "I want to hear Mozart." What an amazing way to expose children to classical music!!

As a homeschooling mom I want my children, 2yrs and 14yrs to get the best education. I include music appreciation with their other school work. Both of the girls and myself love hearing classical music in this format. It gives us background and allows our imaginations to run wild listening to the music and stories. My 2 yr old will just lay in her bed and listen to the cds for an hour! She will get up and dance to the lively sequences. I didn't care for classical music nor did I have an opportunity to listen to it in the public school I attended. Thank you Classical Kids Collection for providing fun, learning and an appreciation for classical music to myself and my children.

We ordered this collection from a recommendation in "The Well-Trained Mind". As soon as we received it, my children wanted to listen to the CDs. We listened to "Song of the Unicorn" and we are all hooked! The story was beautiful and the balance of narration to music was perfect. Afterward, the kids wanted to listen to all of the CDs in the set. We ended up buying both Volume 1 and Volume 2 and I am so glad that I purchased both Volumes after hearing my children's delight.

I read the review regarding magic in the stories and so I was a little hesitant because we are not Harry Potter fans, however, since all classically trained students are introducted to myths and legends I decided to purchase the sets anyway. After listening to the "Song of the Unicorn" I did not find the story to be offensive. We enjoy The Chronicles of Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. I don't think that anyone who shares in the enjoyment of those types of stories will be offended by the stories on these CDs.

Two of these CDs are my 5 year old son's most requested choices for our 35 minute commute to and from school. He is particularly fond of the Mozart and Handel discs. The stories are interesting to the kids, and they put the classical music selections into new context for me as well. I actually hope the characterizations of the composers are fairly realistic--especially as Handel appears to have been quite the angel in the lives of many orphaned children.

The Tchaikovsky disc is fine, but, somehow, not anyone's favorite.

I agree with my son on the magnificence of the Handel disc, but I also really enjoy the medieval tone of the Unicorn disc, which doesn't really appeal to my little boy, though he'll listen to it if I tell him it is my turn to choose.

Make no mistake--these are narrated stories with classical selections woven into the stories as a rich accompaniment. As audiobook-type stories for kids, these are really wonderful compared to others I've heard.

I have given either one or both of these collections as gifts to friends who have young children ever since I discovered them years ago. And now that they have been repackaged you can get 4 at a time, instead of hunting all over for each one. Most of my recipients have started this around age 2, as the pleasant story-telling, combined the the accessible musical sounds, begin to imprint early. I know of no better way to introduce a child to Classical Music than this series!