There is no better way to introduce children to classical music than with Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf musical fairy tale of the little boy (played by all the strings of the orchestra) who, with the help of a bird (played by the flute), outsmarted the big, bad wolf (played by the French horns).
There is no better way to introduce children to classical music than with Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf musical fairy tale of the little boy (played by all the strings of the orchestra) who, with the help of a bird (played by the flute), outsmarted the big, bad wolf (played by the French horns).
And now with this book and CD package, children can look and listen all at the same time.
A new retelling by Janet Schulman follows the basic story, but with a kinder ending for both the big bad wolf and the argumentative duck.
Peter Malone’s paintings have the luminous quality of old Russian masters.
The CD, with music performed by the Cincinnati Pops and word-for-word narration by Peter A. Thomas, was made exclusively for this book and CD package.
Click here for more fine arts books. Learning Through Literature also recommends Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music!
Sergei Prokofiev was a Russian Soviet composer, pianist and conductor. As the creator of acknowledged masterpieces across numerous musical genres, he is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century. Of the established forms and genres in which he worked, he created seven completed operas, seven symphonies, eight ballets, five piano concertos, two violin concertos, a cello concerto, a symphony-concerto for cello and orchestra, and nine completed piano sonatas. (Source: Wikipedia)
PreSchool-Grade 3–This musical fantasy about a disobedient boy who leaves the safety of the garden for the unknown world of the meadow, cleverly conquering the danger he encounters, has been a childhood favorite since 1936. An opening page introduces the characters, naming and depicting the instrument associated with each one. Prokofiev purists, however, will have issues with this retelling.
The text is much longer, much of it hammering home the obvious (that the wolf is dangerous) or providing unnecessary background (the content of grandfather’s dream). This extraneous verbiage leaves less room for the music to spin the story. It is the ending, though, that will prove most troubling to longtime fans.
This wolf is a pathetic captive, begging to go home, feeling guilty about his deed; the hunters are nervous Nellies; grandfather has changed his tune from paternal skepticism to pride; and… yes, the duck is coughed out as the wolf is returned to the forest. The impact of the drama is considerably lessened. Malone’s illustrations are well matched to the story, evoking a somewhat surreal and sometimes humorous world with a Russian flavor. A serviceable CD, recorded by the Cincinnati Pops and narrated by Peter Thomas, is included. Erna Voigt’s faithful rendition (Godine, 1979; o.p.) set a standard for this story that is hard to beat.–Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
