I’m a sucker for children’s books. As I’ve entered the world of grandparenting, I established a rule for books – I only purchase and/or keep ones that I enjoy reading. They must be engaging or clever, educational, and beautiful. I’m constantly on the lookout for fitting titles to add to our library. I’m equally picky when it comes to books for my piano studio. As part of our Piano Expeditions piano camp each summer we read through a book. I’ve loved the “Welcome to…” series by Carolyn Sloan, but now that we’ve utilized all of them I’ve been looking for a good fit for this year’s “To the Isle with Powell and his Dragons” theme. I was delighted to recently come across an older (if 2014 counts as older now!) book that is absolutely delightful!
This is one of the most engaging introductions to the orchestra that I’ve read! Tormod the Troll greets readers on the first page and explains that his mountain home in Norway plays only one piece of music (“In the Hall of the Mountain King”) and he loves music so much that he is determined to find more. His journey takes him to the stage of an orchestra where he is introduced to each family and then the individual members of each family. He is so excited to go share what he has discovered with his friends on the mountain, but he is stuck until he can find his own mountain music to take him back home. Loads of fun illustrations and explanations fill the pages as he explores and listens to the 37 musical snippets (on the accompanying CD) along the way. Many lesser-known composers also make their way onto the pages to share excerpts of the pieces they’ve composed for various instruments.
There is also an IOS app for the book that I immediately purchased and downloaded, and it is fabulous! Every text block and image is touchable and accesses voices and music that tell the story and keep you turning the pages for more. An absolutely delightful read and journey into the musical world of the orchestra!
I’m still deciding whether to use the physical book or the super fun app for our piano camp this summer… will keep you posted on what we do and what the students think!
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