My First Classical Music Book [Hardcover]

Genevieve Helsby (Author), Jason Chapman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2009 | Age Range: 5 and up

A delightfully colorful introduction to classical music, aimed to fire the imagination of young children aged 5-7 years. Readers are asked to think about the different places in which we might hear music, whether it is in a concert hall, or just on television. They are then introduced to a selection of famous composers including Mozart and Beethoven, and learn about each of the musical instrument families, from woodwind to percussion.

Throughout the book children are referred to the accompanying CD so that they can hear examples as they read. Music on the CD includes Magic Flute (Mozart), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Williams), Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns), The Planets (Holst), Petrushka (Stravinsky) and Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev).

Editorial Reviews

Review

An exuberant and fascinating introduction to instruments, melodies and composers alike - Handel, Brahms, Stravinsky, John Adams are all included - and comes with a CD, the carefully chosen tracks dovetailing nicely with the text. - Judith Woods, The Daily Telegraph 'For younger listeners, My First Classical Music Book by Genevieve Helsby combines a picture book and a 69-minute CD in a venture that gives the project of introducing children to proper music its biggest boost since Peter and the Woolf. Dotted among Jason Chapman's lively illustrations are some facts even grown-ups won't know...and there is even a game attempt to evoke the special quality of minimalist music: 'Listening to it is like staring at a fire, or at the sea; you find yourself stuck there, just watching, listening...'. Helsby does an excellent job of making classical msuic accessible and entertaining, with well-chosen CD tracks that kick off with the theme music from the Harry Potter films (by Carl Davis) and follow up with a rousing greatest-hits selection from Offenbach's Can-Can to Saint-Saens's animals, and just a small sample of the dread minimalism thrown in. A sticker on the cover recommends it for ages five to seven, though it would entertain anyone with a few gaps in their knowledge to plug and a few hours of summer leisure time to while away.' - Karen Robinson, The Sunday Times

Product Details

• Age Range: 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 68 pages
• Publisher: Naxos Book; Har/Com edition (February 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843791188
• ISBN-13: 978-1843791188
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 0.5 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,598 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great even for very young children November 20, 2009

By Y. McManaman

Format:Hardcover

This book was an instant hit with my soon to be 3-year old son. He fell in love with the beautiful pictures. The text about the instruments and composers was easy for him to follow. He kept asking me to read the book over and over again and he named the instruments. Surprisingly, he was very interested in the composers. Needless to say, the CD that's included with the book is an instant hit with him. After a couple of days my son asked for a pencil and paper to "write down music" and announced that he was writing "loud organ music, like Bach". We do something related to this book almost every day - listen to the CD, read a page or two, dance, and talk about and pretend-play different instruments. So far so good!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Music for children November 13, 2009

By Irma Catlett

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I started using this book as a guide to teaching 2-4 year old children to listen and enjoy music. It is a good basis for lessons and with some creativity has led to excellent lessons. I'm very excited . My hope is that ultimately they will appreciate and enjoy classical music as I do.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great stuff!!! May 7, 2012

By Gail E. Miller

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am givng this to my grandchildren who are 8 years old. It should give them promptly a lot of info thus saving them lots of time later. They should know the instruments immediately upon hearing them and not spend time wondering who is making that sound. Should be great!!!