The Carnival of the Animals (Book & CD)

Great book for music lovers and children alike. There are many fun and classic songs included and the illustrations on each page enhance the fun for children. It is poetry so my kids needed help understanding but they enjoyed it.

The Prelutzky verses are way more fun than some of the others I've heard for this piece. My 4 and 6yo grand's loved all the colorful illustrations, and loved acting out the animals, one by one. I was especially pleased at how much they remembered of the individual pieces between the first and second playing. We used this book/recording as a way to prepare for a love concert for children, put on by our local Symphony. Happy to find this!

This CD is another way for kids to get introduced to musical instruments along with Peter and the Wolf.

We bought this book/CD set for our grandchildren (boy 5 & girl 6) and although they do not hear classical music often at home it was a joy to listen to the 6 year old read the book (with help), listen to the music related to each animal and admire the beautifuly illustrated pictures of each while discussing it with them. What pleased me also was overhearing them afterwards, while playing & apparently still listening to track 16 (22 minutes of the original strickly music composition at the end of the CD), I could hear them call out 'that's the tortoise' or that's 'the fossils', even 'that's the Personages with long ears'. There is also a note to parents & teachers at the back of the book. I like to think our grandchildren will remember someday, enjoying that time with Grandma as I so often enjoy the memories of my older sister playing quality recordings for my brothers & me.

Our child loves listening to the CD before bed; or on long drives. Although the early run through the CD was a bit scary (the Lion was a bit tough to get through) most of the other tracks were gentle and entertaining. Once the initial fear (again, of the Lion) was overcome, it is now part of our collection and frequently listened to.

As a music teacher, I'm always looking for new ways to present classical music to my students. The verses that go with each piece of music in Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals add so much to the listening of the music. I not only bought this to use at school with my first graders, but bought two copies for my two granddaughters. We read and listened our way through the zoo until the CD began to skip and then refused to work! This is a wonderful resource, but check to see that the CD is in good working order when it arrives. Somehow one of them slipped through quality control! Jack Prelutsky is a favorite children's writer and has done a great job of describing the various animals in a humorous way, while at the same time giving the student something to listen for in the music.

I am a music teacher, and I bought this to do with my kindergartners. They all love it so much, especially the pictures! It comes with the CD, so you do have to upload the songs either onto your computer or iTunes, but that is not hard to do at all. I would highly recommend this for any elementary music teacher or a parent who just wants to have some fun with their kids!

Nice

Es gibt drei Sterne dafür, dass das Buch wunderschön und die Musik sowieso einzigartig ist. Für Kinder genügt es vermutlich. Das ist aber auch schon alles. Die Musikstücke haben einen mehr oder weniger hohen Rauschpegel und scheppern sogar bei dem einen oder anderen Ton. Bei manchen Stücken fehlt schlichtweg die Tiefe - wie aus dem Schuhkarton... Man hört außerdem, dass die Stücke unter unterschiedlichen Bedingungen aufgenommen wurden, da sich die Klangtiefe des Orchesters doch deutlich von Stück zu Stück unterscheidet. Wirklich schade, habe z.B. mit CDs der deutschen Grammophon niemals solche Erfahrungen gehabt - und das trotz analoger Aufnahmen, die nachträglich auf CD gepresst wurden. Wer Wert auf ein Gesamtkonzept (Buch, Musik und Gedichtvortrag) legt und dem die Klangqualität des Orchesters nicht so wichtig ist, dem sei es gegönnt.

This book is gorgeous cover to cover. The magnificent music of Saint Saens is perfectly accompanied by this little gem of a book. A great gift for children and parents, music and art lovers alike.

The CD is fake and only plays the first piece

動物達の様子が良く伝わる音楽で、サンサーンスの、音楽的表現の仕方が、素晴らしいと、思った。 昔、サンサーンスの、白鳥という、レコードで、曲を聞いてから、ずっと、気になっていたので、出会えて嬉しかったです。 チャイコフスキーの、白鳥の湖が先か、それとも、サンサーンスか、どっちが先に生まれて、書いたかは、私には、わかりませんが、 どちらも、白鳥の美しさや、優雅さを、うまく表現しているのに、感心しました。

Looking forward to enjoying this book together with my Music classes (elementary)