In the Fiddle Is a Song: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Hidden Potential [Hardcover]

Durga Bernhard (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

An acorn is not just an acorn. Somewhere deep inside is a tree waiting to grow tall. And that golden wheat swaying in the breeze? It's bread, just waiting to be baked. There's hidden potential all around us. There's even hidden potential inside you! This special lift-the-flap book will open your eyes to the remarkable possibilities within the ordinary things we see every day.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–This unique book is rendered in soft gouache watercolors, bestowing a traditional Old World look that is full of warmth and charm. Simplicity is the key, as nature's bounty is visually transformed into human treasures. An acorn turns into a tree, the Earth's clay becomes an artistic pottery piece, wheat becomes bread, and a caterpillar becomes a butterfly. Children will marvel at nature's wonders and will be ready to join in the dancing as the fiddle produces a song. This is a great read-aloud and a good choice for early readers. Combine it with Verna Aardema's Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain (Dial, 1981) for an artistic visual program about nature.–Wanda Meyers-Hines, Ridgecrest Elementary School, Huntsville, AL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-Gr. 2. While many picture books use foldout pages to reveal what's hiding behind an object, this one shows the potential hidden within the object. "In an acorn . . ." reads the text on the first double-page spread, a picture of a large acorn atop a colorful pile of autumn leaves.^B An opaque overlay on the right-hand page unfolds upward to reveal an oak and complete the sentence with "is a tree waiting to grow tall." Even if they are a bit baffled during a first run-through, repeat listeners will quickly learn to connect acorn with tree, clay with pot, wheat with bread, and so on. One somewhat confusing image ("In the thread is a weaving waiting to be spun") remains forgettable, but the other nine are more precise and satisfying. Gentle hues and rounded shapes unify the gouache paintings, which depict the concepts in a variety of settings from desert to meadow to homespun interior. With rhythmic phrasing and rhymes (or near-rhymes) at some sentence endings, the verse is evident when read straight through. Many children, however, will find it more satisfying to pause and talk about the ideas that arise as the pages unfold. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 24 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 20, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811849511
• ISBN-13: 978-0811849517
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,873 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You've got to love a title like this, October 29, 2006

By 

CA Mom - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Fiddle Is a Song: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Hidden Potential (Hardcover)

This is a gem of a book. As a mom, I love the main idea about hope for a human's potential, as well as the potential of everything around us (e.g. a fiddle makes beautiful music; clouds bring rain; a gooey larva makes a butterfly). However, my soon-to-be-3 daughter, who really loves all kinds of books, is less enthusiastic about this one than I am...But I'm holding out. I think it's one she'll appreciate more when she's a little older, true to the advertised age range for this book. My appreciation to the talented author for this family treasure.

5.0 out of 5 stars beautiful, engaging, endearing! I Love It!, February 28, 2011

By 

Cleta Pines (Indiana, USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: In the Fiddle Is a Song: A Lift-the-Flap Book of Hidden Potential (Hardcover)

This is a wonderful book that I keep buying as a gift (and no one owns it already!) Children and parents love it from 6 months old-kindy and beyond because it is truly a work of visual art and poetry. It has a wonderful message and gorgeous pictures; each page has beautiful lift the flaps. Its a perfect quick bed time story. The general theme is one of possibility and potential. I play the fiddle and bought it sight-unseen for my niece and am so glad I did! Example; "in the fiddle..(lift-the-flap) is a song." In the yarn...is a blanket", "in the catepillar...is a butterfly" The end is awesome its a great gift, get it.