Review of Twelve Magical Musical Masters by Yaacov Mishori

When my eye first caught a glimpse of the “Twelve Magical Musical Masters” book I thought it was a really neat idea! As someone who works a great deal with younger children and is also greatly influenced by music, I am always intrigued by toys and/or tools designed to teach children about the world of music.

From my perspective, I thought this book that includes a “button sound” panel does a great job giving fun and informative overviews of famous composers while allowing the reader to listen to a well-known tune from each composer.

Each composer takes up 2 pages of the book with one side containing biographical information and a profile picture, while the other side has a full size picture depicting something that was mentioned about the composer. I thoroughly enjoyed the storybook-like pictures the author incorporated into his fact-based book because it kept it much more exciting and engaging. (Even though the book contains some printed errors such as incorrect capitalization, incorrect descriptions of button placement, and flipped musical symbols, I didn’t feel like they took away from the overall appeal of the product.)

I have to say, in addition to this book being a great resource for younger children’s “music appreciation,” it’s interactive aspect with the button panel would intrigue me to pick it up off a coffee table and read it. Plus, it does have some interesting facts and pictures (and don’t forget those tunes!) that an even larger demographic would enjoy individually or in a group!