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442nd out of 936 books
—
644 voters
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed
It is Friday evening. The sky is getting darker and darker. Here and there, all around the city, one hundred and five people are getting ready to go to work. Some of them take showers, others bathe. Some shave or trim their mustaches, others put on dusting powder and a little jewelry. Then they all get into special black and white clothes and travel to midtown with their i...more
Paperback, 48 pages
Published
September 25th 1986
by HarperCollins
(first published 1982)
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The Philharmonic Gets Dressed, written by Karla Kuskin and illustrated by Marc Simont, shows the hundred and five members of a philharmonic orchestra preparing to go to work on a Friday night. Interspersed with gentle humour, the story depicts the preparations the members of the philharmonic go through before the start of a public performance (washing, dressing, traveling to the orchestra hall), and that at a time of day, when most people are settling in for a night at home with their family and...more
Karka Kuskin (1932-2009) was a prolific author and illustrator for children. Her prose in this book is flawless. In this unique book, she perfectly describes the events and preparations that lead up to the performance of the orchestral concert.
Marc Simont is both a Caldecott Honor recipient (The Happy Day, 1950) and a Caldecott Medal Winner (A Tree is Nice, 1957). He also illustrated most of the books in the Nate the Great series. His art is glorious, expressive and lively. Combining saturated...more
Marc Simont is both a Caldecott Honor recipient (The Happy Day, 1950) and a Caldecott Medal Winner (A Tree is Nice, 1957). He also illustrated most of the books in the Nate the Great series. His art is glorious, expressive and lively. Combining saturated...more
I was reading this book for the Goodreads Picture Book Club and I was extremely intrigued with this book! “The Philharmonic Gets Dressed” is a children’s book by Karla Kuskin along with illustrations Marc Simont that details the preparation that the members of the Philharmonic Orchestra must undergo to get ready for their encore! “The Philharmonic Gets Dressed” is a great book for children who love learning about the inner workings of an orchestra!
It is Friday night and ninety-two men and thirte...more
It is Friday night and ninety-two men and thirte...more
5 likes · like · see review
Mar 17, 2011
Dolly
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
parents reading with their children
This is an interesting and unusual way to look at an orchestra; it shows how many parts have to come together for this group to become one and "turn black notes on white pages into a symphony." We loved the fun illustrations (Marc Simont is one of our favorites from all the Nate The Great stories we've read) and the people in underwear definitely got a giggle from our girls. The narrative was simple, and a math exercise in itself. We loved pointing out all the instruments we knew and I had fun g...more
3 likes · like · see review
This book was not one of my favorite picture story books. I was disappointed after reading a story book that seemed to be based around a philharmonic, but in fact spoke very little about music at all.I hoped that this would be a fun book to incorporate into a music lesson, but there was not much relevant material on music to use. The book did not really tell a great story, but rather listed steps that individuals take in getting dressed, including showers. This book would be more appropriate for...more
105 members of the philharmonic take baths, dry off, put on their underthings, get dressed, put on their coats, etc., and go to the concert hall to play a concert. I enjoyed the accuracy in illustration, such as the timpanist putting his head down to the drum to tune. They really got the details right.
The Philharmonic Gets Dressed was a Picture Book Club read for this month's theme "Music" http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
I liked the concept of the book giving incite into what the Philharmonic does to get ready for the evening. However, it just didn't come together for me. While the pictures were interesting enough, the text however was not. I found myself skimming the text in the middle of the book because it become quite doldrum. It wasn't so much about music itself, but about the pe...more
I liked the concept of the book giving incite into what the Philharmonic does to get ready for the evening. However, it just didn't come together for me. While the pictures were interesting enough, the text however was not. I found myself skimming the text in the middle of the book because it become quite doldrum. It wasn't so much about music itself, but about the pe...more
3 likes · like · see review
It's dark in the city and we zoom in, to see illustrator Marc Simont's beautifully comical vignettes of a wide variety of men and women getting dressed, struggling with socks and tights... and then public transport. From all corners of the city they come together - "and their work is to play. And they play beautifully".
That last sentence speaks volumes! Wonderful book, beautifully illustrated and written. John Betjeman would have loved it too, I reckon.
Just don't read the title before you rea...more
That last sentence speaks volumes! Wonderful book, beautifully illustrated and written. John Betjeman would have loved it too, I reckon.
Just don't read the title before you rea...more
Illustrates and describes 105 members of the Phillharmonic orchestra getting dressed.
"First they get washed. There are ninety-two men and three women. Many take showers. A few take baths. Two men and three women run bubblebaths, and one man reads in the tub while the cat watches. One woman sits in the bubbles and sings."
No one would publish a picture book like this now, because it shows adults in towels, underwear, bras, etc. But it is wonderful, following a group of people through their prepara...more
"First they get washed. There are ninety-two men and three women. Many take showers. A few take baths. Two men and three women run bubblebaths, and one man reads in the tub while the cat watches. One woman sits in the bubbles and sings."
No one would publish a picture book like this now, because it shows adults in towels, underwear, bras, etc. But it is wonderful, following a group of people through their prepara...more
I like the concept of showing the members of a Philharmonic orchestra getting ready for their performance. But why oh why did Simont have to show so many adults in their underwear or coming out of a shower or bath and only covered by steam or a towel? I live in a very conservative area where nearly naked adults is something of a problem in a children's picture book. This was a Reading Rainbow book so I didn't worry about content before I purchased it. I haven't seen that episode, but I would rea...more
This is the friendly children's tale of the 105 people in the NY Philharmonic and how they prepare for work each Friday evening.
It is amusingly detailed, both in words and pictures (imagine the drawings of people focused intently on dressing as you read):
The men wear undershorts or briefs. Some of the men wear T-shirt undershirts with sleeves. Some wear undershirts without sleeves, and a few of the ninety-two do not wear undershirts at all. But night and the temperature are falling, and one thi...more
It is amusingly detailed, both in words and pictures (imagine the drawings of people focused intently on dressing as you read):
The men wear undershorts or briefs. Some of the men wear T-shirt undershirts with sleeves. Some wear undershirts without sleeves, and a few of the ninety-two do not wear undershirts at all. But night and the temperature are falling, and one thi...more
A unique and unusually engaging introduction to understanding the diversity of the people behind an art and a career. I was surprised that the getting dressed part was covered so thoroughly in a children's picture book. Some of the pictures were clever and amusing but others were just distracting and awkward and made my children want to skip through them briskly. Beside those disappointments the rest of the book was charming.
I would have liked this picture book a lot more if I had not been so disturbed at the beginning with all the pictures of adults bathing/showering and then in their various versions of underwear. I really liked the idea of showing the performers as individuals coming from lots of backgrounds, real people with families, pets, etc., but naked? in their underwear? I CAN'T read that to the students at my school!
This plot for this book is exactly what the title suggests. The pictures show members of a symphony getting dressed for a concert. I am probably just fond of this book because of my own musician days, but it does give a sense of anticipation for the young reader who might not know what's going on until the book reveals it at the end.
This older picture book is about the steps the people who perform in the Philharmonic do before leaving for work. I found the story a bit slow and long. Maybe it would be a more exciting read to share with children if your family was going to attend a musical performance that evening?
Super cute book for kids...published in 1982, which probably explains the line "There are ninety-two men and thirteen women." Women had a really hard time getting into orchestras before blind auditions, because it was assumed they couldn't play as well. Wish there was an updated version!
This is quite an interesting and unusual book. It tells of 105 orchestra members getting ready to go to work. It could be used with students with disabilities almost like a social story, to explain the routine of getting bathed and dressed.
Children are invited along as the members of the Philadelphia Philharmonic bathe and dress for their performance. Children will greatly enjoy the pictures of the orchestra members being in bathtubs and showers!
I liked this book, all the little details of what goes down before the performance starts; but what is up with the ratio of ladies to gents in this fine piece of literature? It's just so 20th century :P
In hindsight, this book is quite possibly the beginning of my training as a classical musician--certainly it has informed my concert black wardrobe choices for life!
Follows the members of the Philharmonic as they prepare for a concert. Entertaining illustrations.
Cartoon g-rated nudity
Cartoon g-rated nudity
My mother read this to me when I was growing up, and it was one of my favorite books...and still is! She's a children's librarian and always has the best taste in ilterature.
This whimsical and informative book discusses what it's like to be a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra; what happens before you go to work, what you wear, what you do. It is full of tiny, fun details that kids can find and point out again and again (the cat on the toilet seat, the skinny man with the tie) and a wonderfull...more
This whimsical and informative book discusses what it's like to be a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra; what happens before you go to work, what you wear, what you do. It is full of tiny, fun details that kids can find and point out again and again (the cat on the toilet seat, the skinny man with the tie) and a wonderfull...more
I found this in a box of old books I was getting ready to donate to the library, but decided to keep it, since the illustrations are neat, and there aren't many kids books about the Philharmonic! This book is exactly what the title describes -- members of the Philharmonic getting dressed. A little outdated, a little quirky, and also (unfortunately) a little bit boring. My favorite part is the text from an ad in one of the illustrations. One of the musicians is riding the subway to the concert ha...more
Did not enjoy reading about people bathing and clothing they put on. Odd topic really. End was better.
I love the symphony and I love books, but I thought that this book was dull. The illustrations are wonderful. The text was plodding. It’s a very straightforward, detailed account of orchestra members getting dressed, leaving their homes, and going to work to make music together, and it ends before any music starts. It would have been a more interesting book with the illustrations and no words at all. Maybe it was my mood, but I thought that this was a boring, ineffective way to try to excite chi...more
4 likes · like · see review
Absorbing attention to detail makes this a children's must-read.
seems like a weird idea, but reaaly good
Mommy says: What a neat book for kids!
Love, love, love this book!
One of my all time favorites!
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Karla Kuskin was an author and illustrator of children's literature, as well as a frequent reviewer of books.
More about Karla Kuskin...
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Mar 12, 2011 09:40pm
Mar 28, 2011 10:49pm