The Philharmonic Gets Dressed (Reading Rainbow Books) [Paperback]

Karla Kuskin (Author), Marc Simont (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: September 25, 1986 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: Reading Rainbow Books | Lexile Measure: 750L (What's this?)

"It is almost Friday night. Outside, the dark is getting darker," and here and there around the city ninety-two men and thirteen women are getting dressed to go to work. First they bathe and put on their underwear. Then they don special black-and-white apparel. Then when the one hundred and five people are completely ready, each takes a musical instrument and travels to midtown. There, at 8:30 tonight, they will work together: playing.

In these pages Karla Kuskin and Marc Simont combine their talents to give us a delightful and unusual inside view of one way an orchestra prepares.

Nominee, 1983 American Book Award
Notable Children's Books of 1983 (ALA)
1983 Fanfare Honor List (The Horn Book)
Outstanding Children's Books of 1982 (NYT)
A Reading Rainbow Selection
1983 Teachers' Choices (NCTE)
Children's Books of 1982 (Library of Congress)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"One of those rare collaborations to which the word classic instantly adheres." -- --Time.

About the Author

Karla Kuskin wrote more than fifty books for children, including the Philharmonic Gets Dressed, Green as a Bean, and Moon, Have You Met My Mother She was the winner of the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry, among other honors. And once, long ago, may have given her son a woolly red hat.

Marc Simont was born in 1915 in Paris. His parents were from the Catalonia region of Spain, and his childhood was spent in France, Spain, and the United States. Encouraged by his father, Joseph Simont, an artist and staff illustrator for the magazine L'Illustration, Marc Simont drew from a young age. Though he later attended art school in Paris and New York, he considers his father to have been his greatest teacher.

When he was nineteen, Mr. Simont settled in America permanently, determined to support himself as an artist. His first illustrations for a children's book appeared in 1939. Since then, Mr. Simont has illustrated nearly a hundred books, working with authors as diverse as Margaret Wise Brown and James Thurber. He won a Caldecott Honor in 1950 for illustrating Ruth Krauss's The Happy Day, and in in 1957 he was awarded the Caldecott Medal for his pictures in A Tree is Nice, by Janice May Udry.

Internationally acclaimed for its grace, humor, and beauty, Marc Simont's art is in collections as far afield at the Kijo Picture Book Museum in Japan, but the honor he holds most dear is having been chosen as the 1997 Illustrator of the Year in his native Catalonia. Mr. Simont and his wife have one grown son, two dogs and a cat. They live in West Cornwall, Connecticut. Marc Simont's most recent book is The Stray Dog.

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins; Reprint edition (September 25, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006443124X
• ISBN-13: 978-0064431248
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 6.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #148,757 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Before the Music Begins..... February 25, 2002

By Roz Levine

Format:Paperback

Friday night, it's growing dark outside, and most people are on their way home from work. "And here and there, uptown and downtown and across the bridges of the city, one hundred and five people are getting dressed to go to work." Author Karla Kuskin follows the 105 members, ninety-two men and thirteen women, of the Philharmonic Orchestra as they prepare for their evening's work. Watch them bathe, powder, shave and dress, the men in their tuxedos and the women in long black dresses and skirts. See them put on their outerwear, coats, scarves, boots, hats, and gloves, pack up their cases of many shapes and sizes, say good-bye to family and friends, and head to the concert hall. At 8:25, 104 men and women are on stage with their instruments, seated, and ready to perform. Number 105, the conductor, enters, steps up on the podium, raises his baton and "the music floats and rises." "It is 8:30 on Friday night, and the one hundred and five men and women dressed completely in black and white have gone to work turning the black notes on white pages into a symphony. They are the members of the Philharmonic Orchestra, and their work is to play. Beautifully." Ms Kuskin and award winning illustrator, Marc Simont give readers a detailed, behind the scenes view of the musicians and all they do to get ready for an evening performance. The simple and straightforward text is fascinating and engaging, and complemented by Mr Simont's expressive and humorous cartoon-like artwork that brings out the personality of each and every musician. Perfect for youngsters 4-8, The Philharmonic Gets Dressed is a delightful little treasure all budding musicians will beg to read again and again.... And as the conductor drops his baton and you turn the last page, you can almost hear the symphony begin. Read more ›

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book growing up! August 10, 2000

By "nymom"

Format:School & Library Binding

I just found this book in a box of my old books. My daughter was fascinated! In addition to teaching the ideas behind getting dressed, and counting really high, the illustrations (a little reminiscent of some New Yorker cartoons) are delightful. This is a terrific book for about 2-15, and of course, for adults.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspired description of the hidden world behind work November 27, 1999

By Marti Nelson

Format:Paperback

My son began to show an early interest in music as a baby, and we've been delighted at the wonderful storybooks about music. This one focuses on how the musicians prepare for their evening at work. The illustrations are charming and full of the personality of each individual musician depicted. This book does a wonderful job of showing that the "show" is not the only thing, and that many hours of preparation go into getting ready for work! I highly recommend this book for children who already love music, for teachers of music who want to show that there is an opportunity for people to "play" for work, or for professional musicians who have heard, "What do you do for a living?" one too many times.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius! May 5, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

The idea for this book was a stroke of genius, and it is executed flawlessly. It's about the orchestra, or is it? They don't play a note until the last page. Your kids will learn the different instruments (and the different underwear...) The story and the illustrations are engaging, relevant, funny, poetic. When we read it aloud at my house, the room goes quiet. Everyone smiles. Thank you Karla Kuskin!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A magical and decptively simple book March 15, 2005

By Megan

Format:Paperback

I adored this book growing up, and recently found my copy of it. It tells the story of, well, the Philharmonic getting dressed. Litterally. The story ends when the show begins.

It offers some fascinating concepts of the kind that kids love: that talented individuals are real people too, who take baths and have children and pets; that a "whole" can be made up of many different parts (1 philharmonic = many different people). The illustrations are simple but witty enough to call the child's attention.

It makes a perfect bedtime story, by the way, because even though the members of the Philharmonic are getting dressed, many of the rituals mirror a child's bedtime rituals: taking a bath, getting dressed in pj's, saying goodnight to family, etc.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Grab a classic May 2, 2005

By MovedbyMusic

Format:Paperback

This book has been around forever but you'd never know it because it has a timeless and lasting appeal. Preparing for another performance evening for a professional musician of the Philharmonic becomes an incredible introduction into a night of the Symphony. The different aspects of ordinary life getting ready to go to work as professional musician are subtle but no less effective.

I remember this book being read to me before the first time I ever visted Carnegie Hall for a recital. I loved it then - share it now.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Friday night fun. July 12, 2004

By Genevieve S. Gibson

Format:Paperback

This is a terrific book for adults and children that follows the ritual of a number of people who are getting ready in different ways to do one thing together. To make music.

I love the quiet humour and the little details in the illustrations.
I had a copy of the book as a child and loved to look over it and observe something so different from my own experiences of being a second grader in a small town.
The book just radiated glamour to me and still does.

This book is equally sophisticated and sweet.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars surprisingly good August 9, 2003

By Monarda B. Allen

Format:Paperback

I am a music lover not a musician, so some years ago, when I thought of buying "The Philharmonic Gets Dressed" for my kid who was starting music lessons, I passed it over, thinking it was not about music.

Guess what? I was so wrong. My offspring, now a teen who has been in an advanced orchestra for years, went out bought it for self. Absolutely loves it. "This book rocks, mom, why didn't you buy it for me? The picture at the end says all there is to say about makig beautiful music."