All ages:
Story of the Orchestra : Listen While You Learn About the Instruments, the Music and the Composers Who Wrote the Music! By Robert Levine. The book is divided into two major parts: composers and their associated musical periods, and the instruments of the orchestra. Pages are comprised of a paragraph or two along with a boxed quote/comment appears, making the book a page turner even for reluctant readers.
Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought). By Kathleen Krull and Kathryn Hewitt. Short biographies of 16 musical masters.
Shake, Rattle & Roll: The Founders of Rock & Roll. By Holly George-Warren. 14 rock musicians' childhood musical backgrounds, how their careers began, short descriptions of their greatest hits and of any unique clothing or hairstyles for which they were famous make this a fun read for budding rock stars. (Also recommended: Honky-Tonk Heroes and Hillbilly Angels: The Pioneers of Country and Western Music by the same author)
Mike Venezia has authored several biographies of the "world's greatest composers" that come highly recommended on Amazon.
Younger Readers:
The Quiet Book. By Deborah Underwood. Quiet comes in many varieties, from "Sleeping sister quiet" to "First snowfall quiet" to "Right before you yell 'SURPRISE' quiet".
Middle Readers:
Shake, Rattle & Turn That Noise Down! How Elvis Shook Up Music, Me and Mom. By Mark Alan Stamaty. An autobiography in graphic novel format shows how Stamaty's love of Elvis and rock and roll, at first drove his mother crazy but ultimately made her proud.
Older readers:
We Shall Overcome: A Song that Changed the World. By Stuart Stotts. This iconic song serves as the framework for new understandings of the Civil Rights Movement.
Discover more books that are perfect for each of your kids ages & interests with the Random House Children’s Book Finder |