The Story Orchestra: Swan Lake: Press the note to hear Tchaikovsky's music (Volume 4)

Our kids love these books! We have four of them. They do wear a bit if you are hard on them. But they are beautiful books. And the illustrations are also very nice. I have loved that our kids have become aware of different composers through them. I also think that they have become aware of different classic stories. They also recognize the music when heard elsewhere. This is a great series to get the kids into. We began reading these books to them around four years old. They are now six and seven and are still enjoying them. The music clips are just long enough to get a sense of the song.

I am a ballet teacher, and I purchased this book for a Swan Lake-themed kids' summer workshop. The children absolutely love getting to press the buttons to play the music (it's difficult for them to press hard enough through the pages while I'm holding the book, so I flip to the back where the buttons are repeated). They also love the illustrations, especially the beautiful Queen and, of course, Odette. The story is a fairly straightforward, slightly simplified version of the ballet libretto. Swan Lake is a ballet with multiple possible endings depending on which company performs it, and I was glad that this edition chose a happy ending for Odette and Siegfried, although this story adds that Odile and Rothbart are cursed to remain as a swan and an owl forever. Each page corresponds to a fairly short (8 bars or so) but good-quality audio clip of the orchestra. The musical selections were well chosen, using some of the most well-known themes of the ballet (the Act 1 Valse, the Act 2 Cygnets or "four little swans," the opening and closing theme of Act 2, etc.). I personally might have chosen Odette's variation instead of the pas de deux, but the pas de deux music conveys the emotion of the scene much more effectively. Tchaikovsky's score is so evocative, and the short sound bytes are really effective for young children. Additionally, I appreciate that the editors got around any potential confusion regarding the black swan pas de deux (different companies use one of two different pas de deux because of historical drama is worth reading about if you're interested) by instead using the piece of music after the pas de deux, when Odile and Rothbart reveal themselves. This piece of music also reinforces the main musical motif of the ballet. This would be a great book for a grown-up to read to a pre-reader or early reader. A young reader would have to know a lot of sight words to be able to read this book on their own, but the vocabulary is not terrible complex and there aren't too many words on the page. I would like to add one final note of appreciation for the illustrator. The pictures are not only beautifully drawn and vibrantly colored, but the illustrator made several characters, including Siegfried, the Queen, and Odette herself, people of color. This is a rarity in fairy tales and even more so in ballet, which has been populated predominantly by white dancers since its creation. It's a refreshing change to see many different skin tones represented in a fantasy story. The only thing I can't comment on is the battery life of the book, since it's new. I'll do what I can to preserve it. I have a small lending library in my studio so I'll see if there's a way to remove or switch off the battery until the book is checked out. I look forward to purchasing more books from this collection for my little dancers to enjoy.

I have slowly been purchasing this series for a friends children .Just gave this one and the 6 year old little girl was beaming. This series is BEAUTIFUL! Introduces classic musical masterpieces to little ones through the joy of reading.

This book is beautiful. The illustrations are gorgeous. I would highly recommend this book or any of the story orchestra books to anyone

I bought this book , the first of the 7 existing classical music masterpieces based on the most romantic and beloved tales, hoping it will interest my grandchildren. The book was a tremendous success. I immediately ordered the whole 7. The pictures are fantastic, the sound of music good, the only thing that is worth improvement is the touch of the operating dots in the books- very hard to push and therefore to operate for kids.

The book is beautiful. The pictures are exquisite and the music comes in clear. The buttons are a little hard to depress for a small child but if an adult is reading it with them they can help

I adore these books and I quickly bought the entire collection. My kids love them and we read them over and over. It's important to mention that the books themselves are a bit flimsy and get destroyed easily. I want the author to know this because they are so wonderful. But anything in the hands of kids under 6 is going to get a bit roughed up and I think she should adjust the product a little bit to make it a little more able to take a beating. The sound itself is exceptionally good. It's the spine of the book and the way the pages easily separate from the center and fall out that is the issue.

This series is great for little ones. They love to press the buttons and hear the music.

C'est magique, c'est plein de poésie et, une fois de plus, les illustrations de Jessica Courtney Tickle vous emmènent dans un monde féerique...

My kid really loves this book and the story! We finally understand this classical ballet and can enjoy it more. It's a beautifuly illustrated book! And after reading, my daughter said "i like this man" pointing at Tchaikovsky

Minha filha gostou muito, apesar de ainda nao ter forca pra apertar os botoes. As ilustracoes sao lindas.

Su libro preferido. El lago de los cisnes en inglés, la pila dura mucho y se puede cambiar fácilmente. Les encantan estos libros. 100% recomendable.

Interessante trasposizione di fiabe con il connubio di parole, immagini e brevi supporti musicali inglobati al racconto