Classical Cats: A Children's Introduction to the Orchestra with Book [COMPILATION] (Paperback)

by David Chesky (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Chesky Records is proud to introduce its children's division Chesky Records Kids, and out first musical title: Classical Cats- A Children's Introduction to the Orchestra. Combining humor and feline charm, four fuzzy, utterly irresistable characters bring the wonders of orchestral music to yound children. Maestro Leopold -- the eccentric conductor, Fidleo -- our straitlaced violinist, Furbert -- cellist and troublemaker extraordinaire and Christina -- always the sweet voice of reason, she plays the harp and has been known to really let loose on the drums! Classical Cats...is a wonderful way to present classical music and its instrumentation to children. Told in a playful story, with beautiful music by composers from Tchaikovsky to Copland, Classical Cats...uses splendid metaphors to teach children about the four main sections of the orchestra: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. Classical Cats...is an audio-visual tool that promotes creativity and learning as well as an essential, early appreciation for the arts. This package contains an audio CD and an educational coloring book, filled with delightful pictures of Leopold, Fidleo, Furbert, and Christina and their instruments. (Cassette package also available.) It's a great and fun way to introduce musical culture to the children you love. Also purrfect for schools and libraries.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Chesky Records; 1 edition (May 15, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0965878708
• ISBN-13: 978-0965878708
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.1 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,177,672 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Poor Idea, February 2, 2001

By	D S (Arizona) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Classical Cats: A Children's Introduction to the Orchestra (Audio CD)

Don't be surprised if children who listen to this imitate the main characters and behave badly. The main characters who introduce the music are obnoxious. They are an overbearing female who is always right and a misbehaving boy who she scolds. Sometimes the boy will say something cute and be praised for it by the always superior female. This would be especially awful for a younger brother and older sister. There are many good recordings of classical music directed toward a young audience like Prokofiev's well loved "Peter & the Wolf" and Britten's "The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra". Try the recording of these with narrators Alec Clunes and Lorin Maazel on DG Musikfest. There are numerous other recordings of Prokofiev's Peter & the Wolf and Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, each with different narrators. Try also Classics for Children by Arthur Fiedler with the Boston Pops on Bmg/Rca Victor. This recording has a delightful and humorous version of Saint Saens' Carnival of the Animals and other classical music as well. And there is Tubby the Tuba, this introduces the orchestra with the adventures of a tuba. The story is almost like the Ugly Duckling, sweet and funny. There are versions by Danny Kaye and the Manhattan Transfer among others.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars music to my ears, June 21, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Richmond, Rhode Island) - See all my reviews

My two year old daughter loved this book and tape. The characters are lovabe. She now knows the names of more musical instruments than she would have otherwise. It's a fun, educational set. Defintely worth buying

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Teaching Tool, October 14, 2000

By	Mandy Bailey (North Carolina) - See all my reviews

I am an elementary music educator and use this book with First and Second Grade children to teach instruments of the orchestra. The CD plays wonderful examples of each instrument by its orchestral family. The "cats" are very funny characters that the children fall in love with. Using this as a teaching tool, the ability of First Graders that can tell you the names of each orchestral instrument and the family it belongs in will amaze you. An added plus is the coloring book that shows the cats playing their instruments.