Vivaldi, Antonio.

By staff -- Críticas, 11/15/2007

REVIEWED WITH:
Bach, Johann Sebastian.
du Bouchet, Paule.
tr. by Fina Palomares. illus. by Charlotte Voake. CD narrated by Dolores Martinez. Spain: Combel (Descubrimos a los músicos), dist. by IPG. 2006. unpaged. ISBN 84-9825-162-1. $14.95.

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.
Walcker, Yann.
tr. by Emilia Hernández. illus. by Charlotte Voake. CD narrated by Manuel Veiga and Dolores Martinez. Spain: Combel (Descubrimos a los músicos), dist. by IPG. 2006. unpaged. ISBN 84-7864-958-1. $14.95.

Gr 2-3–Originally published in French, this series not only explores the lives of the classic composers but also offers examples of their work. Each volume includes a CD that narrates the text and plays samples of the musician’s greatest compositions. Each 22-page biography gives interesting facts about the life, family, and historical period of the great composer, and each spread includes a game or activity for children to explore their musical talents. For example, Mozart asks readers to listen to a piece and count the number of bells, gongs, and jingle bell sounds. In Bach, children are encouraged to sing with a group or by themselves; and in Vivaldi, readers are asked to distinguish the sounds of at least 10 different instruments. At the end, a four-spread section offers a discussion of several of the musicians’ famous works, all of which are included in the CD. Besides Voake’s watercolor-and-ink illustrations, the collection uses photographs to display instruments and period paintings to give readers a historical reference. Elementary music teachers will want to include these books in their libraries. Recommended for elementary and public libraries.—Veronica Covington, Univ. of Texas, Austin