Why am I passionate about this?

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. 


I wrote...

Muzart-Connection: Teacher's Edition

By Lana Hazlett,

Book cover of Muzart-Connection: Teacher's Edition

What is my book about?

Dare to revolutionize the way classical music is taught! Don't just teach; inspire with this book. The Teacher's Edition is…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Story Orchestra: I Can Play: Learn 8 Easy Pieces of Classical Music!

Lana Hazlett Why did I love this book?

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.

By Katy Flint, Jessica Courtney Tickle (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Story Orchestra as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

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…


Book cover of Romeo and Juliet for Kids: Shakespeare Can Be Fun!

Lana Hazlett Why did I love this book?

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.

By Lois Burdett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Romeo and Juliet for Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

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.


Book cover of The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue

Lana Hazlett Why did I love this book?

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?

By Suzanne Slade, Stacy Innerst (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Music in George's Head as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

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.


Book cover of Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers: Aaron Copland

Lana Hazlett Why did I love this book?

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.

By Mike Venezia,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Getting to Know the World’s Greatest Composers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Focuses on the life and music of the composer who brought American themes to classical music in such works as "El Salon Mexico" and "Billy the Kid".


Book cover of Great Composers

Lana Hazlett Why did I love this book?

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.

By Piero Ventura, Maureen Casey (translator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Great Composers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

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


Explore my book 😀

Muzart-Connection: Teacher's Edition

By Lana Hazlett,

Book cover of Muzart-Connection: Teacher's Edition

What is my book about?

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. 

Book cover of The Story Orchestra: I Can Play: Learn 8 Easy Pieces of Classical Music!
Book cover of Romeo and Juliet for Kids: Shakespeare Can Be Fun!
Book cover of The Music in George's Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue

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No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

Book cover of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

Rona Simmons Author Of No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I come by my interest in history and the years before, during, and after the Second World War honestly. For one thing, both my father and my father-in-law served as pilots in the war, my father a P-38 pilot in North Africa and my father-in-law a B-17 bomber pilot in England. Their histories connect me with a period I think we can still almost reach with our fingertips and one that has had a momentous impact on our lives today. I have taken that interest and passion to discover and write true life stories of the war—focusing on the untold and unheard stories often of the “Average Joe.”

Rona's book list on World War II featuring the average Joe

What is my book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on any other single day of the war.

The narrative of No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident while focusing its attention on ordinary individuals—clerks, radio operators, cooks, sailors, machinist mates, riflemen, and pilots and their air crews. All were men who chose to serve their country and soon found themselves in a terrifying and otherworldly place.

No Average Day reveals the vastness of the war as it reaches past the beaches in…

No Average Day: The 24 Hours of October 24, 1944

By Rona Simmons,

What is this book about?

October 24, 1944, is not a day of national remembrance. Yet, more Americans serving in World War II perished on that day than on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, or on June 6, 1944, when the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, or on any other single day of the war. In its telling of the events of October 24, No Average Day proceeds hour by hour and incident by incident. The book begins with Army Private First-Class Paul Miller's pre-dawn demise in the Sendai #6B Japanese prisoner of war camp. It concludes with the death…


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