I have loved music since childhood. I grew up on a farm in Western Pennsylvania. My loving, hard-working parents gave my three brothers and me the best life possible. I began singing at our little Chewton Christian Church when asked to do so. Piano lessons began, and for 12 years, my sweet teacher, Joann Thurston, taught me piano, but I realized my true love was singing. She always allowed me to sing as well as play the piano. I attended Westminister College, majoring in elementary education with a music minor. Following graduation, my first job was teaching music to 1500 schoolchildren in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Children must have fun while being introduced to classical music. This book introduces children to classical music and the magical keyboard. As Rowan Baker suggests it is important to first have the child listen to an excerpt of the original instrumental piece before playing the melody on the keyboard.
Jessica Tickles illustrations are delightful and a child’s attention is drawn to them as the original piece is played. I believe the magical keyboard is a jumping-off place for more stimulating activities while teaching classical music to young children.
From the The Story Orchestra series, a beautifully illustrated first piano sound book! Press the keys to learn 8 famous classical tunes from the story books.
While other books in the series play famous pieces of classical music, in this new Story Orchestra title, young readers can now play the tunes themselves!
Color and shape codes correspond to the 14 keys, so kids can learn easy 8-bar, one-finger melodies, so even the youngest child can learn to play music with this simple method. For best results, playing readers the original piece first is recommended so children can familiarise themselves with…
I believe in starting things early! Children can latch onto creative ideas oh so quickly. Don’t ever think they cannot understand and love Shakespeare. Like most all things, if presented in a creative, interesting, stimulating way, children jump right into the ebb and flow of a story and are carried away as they engage their imagination.
Lois Burdett presents Shakespeare in such a compelling way. Children want to dress and pretend to become Romeo, Juliet, Lady and Lord Capulet, and the Montagues. Engage your children today in this delightful book with drawings created by children.
For more than 20 years, Lois Burdett has been introducing Shakespeare to primary school pupils. Working with her students, many as young as seven, she makes Shakespeare's plays come wonderfully alive for young eyes and ears. The texts are rewritten as simple rhyming verse and illustrated by her pupils' own lively colour illustrations of the characters and the action. Her books and workshops for teachers have captured the attention and imagination of parents, educators, and lovers of Shakespeare around the world.
George Gershwin is brought to life as we read this book. Prior to Rhapsody in Blue being played by our hometown orchestra, I took the liberty of paraphrasing this entire book and showing pictures on the big screen, which engaged the audience. They truly loved it!
Suzanne Slade has a delightful way of expressing the feelings of George. He heard music in everything. Perhaps we could take a lesson from George and pay more attention to our surroundings. George heard music while roller skating down the street. He heard melodies in the clatter and noise of New York’s bustling street. What new and exciting adventure will you discover if you only STOP, Look Around, and LISTEN?
George Gershwin heard music all the time--at home, at school, even on New York City's busy streets. Classical, ragtime, blues, and jazz--George's head was filled with a whole lot of razzmatazz! With rhythmic swirls of words and pictures, author Suzanne Slade and illustrator Stacy Innerst beautifully reveal just how brilliantly Gershwin combined various kinds of music to create his masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue, a surprising and whirlwind composition of notes, sounds, and one long wail of a clarinet. Includes author's note, timeline, and bibliography.
The author, Mike Venezia, believes in having fun. If you want to introduce children to composers and music, make it fun for them. While reading the delightful, imaginative story about Aaron Copland play compositions such as Rodeo, Appalachian Spring, Billy the Kid, and Fanfare for the Common Man.
Mike Venezia has a very interesting, engaging way of introducing art, inventions, and period photography. Visual images bring his numerous children’s classical music books alive. He makes his composers become real people, like you and me.
This book encourages readers to travel through the ages with our most famous classical composers, big bands, jazz, and popular music innovators. It introduces the reader to time periods beginning with primitive man and ending with the Beatles arriving at Buckingham Palace to receive honors from the Queen of England. Tidbits of information are gleaned as one progresses from page to page through the periods.
Piero Ventura’s fascinating art helps us visualize everyday life and gain insight into our most famous composers. One can almost see the composers walking the streets, attending opening night concerts, operas, and ballets while showing us they were real people, just like us. One never knows what influence these great composers or any one of us might have on society from generation to generation.
The internationally acclaimed artist and author has created a work that helps teach young people about the world's greatest composers and describes the history of music from primitive rhythms to the era of the classical masters
Dare to revolutionize the way classical music is taught! Don't just teach; inspire with this book. The Teacher's Edition is not only an instrument of knowledge but also a catalyst for curiosity, creativity, and fun. As you guide your students to uncover classical musical gems you are also enabling them to cultivate a genuine appreciation for the genre and spark their curiosity about the intriguing stories behind the compositions.
Encourage dialogue, interaction, creative movement, classroom art, the introduction of instruments, musical theory, and dressing in costumes when operas and ballets are introduced. Let's make composers not just historical figures, but friends to your students. The book introduces historical periods beginning with the Stone Age and ending with the 20th century.
I’ve always been fascinated by group dynamics, large and small. Why things functioned well, why they didn’t. It’s possible my ability to empathize and use humor as a consensus-builder is the reason I was elected president of a homeowners association, a music production association, and even an agricultural group. Books were not particularly involved in this fascination! But in recent years, experiencing the breakdown of civility and trust in our political and cultural discourse, I’ve taken a more analytical view of the dynamics. These books, in their very different ways, have taught me lessons about life, understanding those with different beliefs, and finding ways to connect and move forward.
We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike.
My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and modern-day causes of our nation's divisive state. It then proposes easy-to-understand solutions—an action plan for our elected leaders and citizens as well. Rather than a scholarly treatment of a complex topic, the book challenges us to take the obvious steps required of those living in a free democracy. And it…
Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation
Lyle Greenfield's "Uniting the States of America―A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation" is a work of nonfiction and opinion. Incorporating the lessons of history and the ideas and wisdom of many, it is intended as both an educational resource and a call-to-action for citizens concerned about the politically and culturally divided state of our Union. A situation that has raised alarm for the very future of our democracy.
First, the book clearly identifies the causes of what has become a national crisis of belief in and love for our country. How the divisiveness and hostility rampant in our political…
