Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Camille Saint-Saëns’s The Carnival of the Animals with new verses by Jack Prelutsky

In 1886, Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals. Fast forward 124 years. Jack Prelutsky has added poems and Mary GrandPré has added illustrations to create this lovely tribute to Saint-Saëns' original composition. Complete with audio CD, it is a worthy tribute.

What I thought
: I'll be honest. I've listened to classical music a lot, but I've never heard of Camille Saint-Saëns or his The Carnival of the Animals. I bough the collection because Prelutsky wrote the poetry. The poems are great fun as Prelutsky's always are. My favorites are "Rooster and Hens," "Elephants," and "Birds." The illustrations are magical. My favorites are "Birds" and "Swan." The note to parents and teachers at the end of the collection was very informative. I haven't yet had a chance to listen to the audio CD, but I know it will be wonderful.

(Illus. Mary GrandPré. Knopf, 2010)

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