The Barefoot Book of Stories from the Opera
Shahrukh Husain ISBN 1902283287
Submitted by Miss
Holloway. This is a wonderful book in which Ms. Husain retells
seven operatic stories for a juvenile audience. In addition to the
wonderful tales told in a understandable way, there are a number of beautiful
illustrations, both which serve to keep a child's attention. Additionally,
on the final page, the composer of each opera is given a brief write up
explaning his life and times and information is provided for people interested
in purchasing a CD of the opera in question. All in all, it is not
only a fine book for children, but an excellent resource for educators,
as well.
Beethoven
Lives Upstairs
Barbara Nichol ISBN 0-531-06828-5
This is the book of the VHS tape of the same name...and since pushing around a cart with a VCR and TV on it is a little out of the question, I chose to buy the book and I use my schools VCR when I need it. This tells the tale of a boy, Christoph, who lives downstairs from Ludwig van Beethoven and, at first, thinks of him as a madman. As the story proceeds, his ideas change and he (and the reader) begin to see Beethoven's genius and the tragedy of his deafness. "He believes that music can change the world," Christoph's mother explains why Beethoven works so hard despite his lack of hearing. By the end of the story neither Christoph nor the students thought of Beethoven as a madman...and his music seemed to sound even more amazing.
Best-Loved
Children's Songs from Japan
Yoko Imoto ISBN 0-89346-837-1
I found this book as I was pawing through Borders one day and I loved
it instantly...and my friend, who is also teaches General Music 700 miles
away was mad they only had one copy. This wonderful book shares 15
songs from the Japanese tradition. Each page offers the "sheet music"
(melody only), the Japanese text, the English translation, and the pronunciation
for singing it in Japanese. And, in the back of the book, there is
a brief, one paragraph explanation for each of the songs. These songs
are meant to be sung in Japanese (the translations really don't work with
the melody lines), so if you don't like teaching songs in foreign languages,
this book may not be for you. But, if you're like me and love to
expand your students' world views by teaching them songs in foreign languages,
then you'll find this book as fascinating as I do...oh, and the illustrations
are lovely as well: this book received the Graphic Design Award at
the 1987 Bologna International Children's Book Fair!
Bravo,
Amelia Bedelia!
Herman Parish ISBN 0-688-15154-X
Submitted by Emily.
This is a really cute book that the kids love. For those of
you who are not familiar with Amelia Bedelia, she is a well-meaning housekeeper
who takes everything literally. So, when she is asked to help with
the school orchestral concert by picking up the conductor, the fun begins
when she arrives with the train conductor and leaves the musical conductor
waiting at the train station! From searching for French Horns to
tapping one's toes Amelia finds a way to misinterpret just about everything!
Not only is it a great read, but it will clear up some strange musical
definitions....and maybe make your students laugh at themselves a bit when
they see some of their own mistakes! I'm very glad that I bough this
book!
Brown
Girl in the Ring
Alan Lomax ISBN 0-679-40453-8
I recently went to New york to visit my friends, Jeff and Will. While I was there I was able to do a lot of things, including poke around some really awesome bookstores. This is one of the books I came across. It is a compilation of song games from the Eastern Caribbean. There are many that were familiar (Sally Go Round the Moon, Miss Mary Mack, & Pop Goes the Weasel among them), and many more that I'm very excited to learn. Each song presented has words (sometimes in multiple languages), music, and a description of the game is it is played in the Caribbean. There is also a back section that has wonderful references and resources for further research. As a Music Specialist who emphasizes multicultural music, I'm very excited to have found this book (and in hardback, no less, so it will last). If your interests lie in the same area, then I would definitely recommend this book.