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.com Review ----------- "The STRINGS all soar, the REEDS implore, / The BRASSES roar with notes galore. / It's music that we all adore. / It's what we go to concerts for." In this exuberant tribute to classical music and the passionate, eccentric musicians who play it, author Lloyd Moss begins with the mournful moan and silken tone of one trom. A trumpet sings and stings along, forming a duo, then a fine French horn joins in, "TWO, now THREE-O, what a TRIO!" The mellow cello ups it to a quartet, then ZIN! ZIN! ZIN! a violin soars high and moves in to make a quintet. The flute that "sends our soul a-shiver" makes a sextet, and "with steely keys that softly click," a sleek, black, woody clarinet slips the group into a septet. We move on! A chamber group of ten! And the orchestra is ready to begin. Moss should be congratulated for creating a playful, musical stream of rhyming couplets that seamlessly, slyly teaches the names of myriad musical groups. Marjorie Priceman, the whimsical, masterful illustrator of Elsa Okon Rael's When Zaydeh Danced on Eldridge Street ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/0689804512/${0} ) and Jack Prelutsky's For Laughing Out Loud ( /exec/obidos/ASIN/0394821440/${0} ), won a Caldecott Honor Award for this swirling, twirling, colorful musical world worthy of thunderous applause and a standing ovation. (Ages 4 to 8) --Karin Snelson Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) From Publishers Weekly ---------------------- This debut book by author Moss, as kids today would say is boss. Its clever, jazzy verse presents (In language that is never dense) a helpful intro to each orchestra instrument-how some are alike but rather more are different. He starts with the trom's "mournful moan," playing solo (i.e., alone); then adds a trumpet, French horn and cello-all sounding forth a signature "hello." Each musical portrait (in quatrains) abounds with perfectly chosen, alliterative sounds. Thus the flute, notes Moss, "sends our soul a-shiver; flute, that slender silver sliver." And Priceman's zany art's just right, with loose-limbed figures taking flight around each spread in garb bizarre, if proving how funky musicians are.With every new instrument joining the throng of diligent players practicing song, Moss incorporates numbers and stops only when his team finally reaches a "chamber group of ten." So the book can be used as a counting tool (A great way to perk up a dull day at school): but it really works best, it's easy to see, as a deft means of meeting the symphony. So a plentiful praise to this finely matched pair, whose pictures and words show unusual flair. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) From School Library Journal --------------------------- Kindergarten-Grade 5?Layout, design, illustrations, and descriptive verses blend in perfect harmony to give voice to the unique sounds of 10 orchestral instruments. Readers meet the "Fine FRENCH HORN, its valves all oiled/Bright and brassy, loops all coiled," and the "FLUTE that sends our soul a-shiver;/ FLUTE, that slender, silver sliver." One by one as the numbers progress from ONE TROM playing SOLO all the way up to "A CHAMBER GROUP of TEN," the excitement, motion, and sounds increase. Priceman's amusing watercolors present an inspired assortment of characters who pose, prance, and float across the page and stage, their seeming wildness giving form to each instrument's function, as their exaggerated features and elongated limbs give them a sophisticated wit and elegant air. The rich, swirling background colors change with each double-page spread. As the numbers of players grow, the proscenium and curtain become more and more of a presence until viewers find themselves facing the concert group, and then onstage behind the musicians, who are facing the audience, taking a bow. A delight for music classes as well as a great introduction to the concert hall, this title will surely be met with applause.?Jane Marino, sdale Public Library, NY Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) From Booklist ( /gp/feature.html/?docId=1000027801 ) ---------------------------------------------------- Ages 6^-8. In a fine preemptive strike, this zesty introduction to the orchestra could open young minds to the pleasures of classical music. Graceful rhyming couplets present 10 instruments and their characteristics: "With mournful moan and silken tone, / Itself alone comes ONE TROM. / Gliding, sliding, high notes go low; / ONE TROM is playing SOLO." Next the trumpet joins the trom to make a duo, and then a French horn makes it a trio. In the process of adding instruments, the book teaches the names of musical groups up to a chamber group of 10 as well as the categories into which the instruments fall: strings, reeds, and brasses. Amazingly, Moss conveys this encyclopedic information while keeping the poem streamlined and peppy. Priceman's sprightly, sunny hued gouache paintings should take a bow, too. The symphony she portrays is hardly stiff: her musicians are characters--eccentric nonconformists who obviously love the music they are making. Superb in both concept and execution, this title is a sound addition to any collection. Julie Yates Walton Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) Review ------ "A delight...this title will surely be met with applause." -- "School Library Journal, " starred review A Caldecott Honor Book An American Library Association Notable Children's Book A "School Library Journal" Best Book A "New York Times" Best Illustrated Book "A book from which music issues forth as clearly as from any music box." -- "New York Times Book Review" Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) About the Author ---------------- Lloyd Moss, the classical music guru of WQXR, has a long list of TV and film appearances and voice-overs to his credit. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York. Marjorie Priceman, illustrator of many accled picture books, has won Caldecott Honors for her illustrations in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! by Lloyd Moss and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the Frist Hot-Air Balloon Ride, which she also wrote. She lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Read more ( javascript:void(0) )