The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

by Anita Ganeri, Benjamin Britten, Ben Kingsley

This elegant hardcover book-and-CD package introduces the sights and sounds of the orchestra. After listening to the sounds of each instrument on the CD--from mellow flutes to blazing trumpets--readers may turn to the accompanying book to learn more about the orchestra and its instruments. All are invited to tour each section--string, woodwind, brass, and percussion--to discover what makes classical music so universally expressive. “This is a great book for children of all ages.”-- American Bookseller

Genres: Music, Reference, Nonfiction, Childrens

64 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1996

About the author

Anita Ganeri is a highly experienced author of children’s information books, specialising in religion, India/Asia, multiculturalism, geography, biography and natural history. She became a freelance writer after working at Walker Books (as foreign rights manager) and Usborne Publishing (as an editor). Since then, she has written over 300 titles, including the best-selling Horrible Geography series for Scholastic. The series won the Geographical Association Silver Award in 1999 and was cited as being ‘an innovation that all geographers will applaud’. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society where she conducts most of her research for the books.

Reviews

[Nd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was quite informative to someone who is just a listener.

[Virginia Franklyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book about the orchestra, their instruments, and the music they play. I learned a lot from it. I liked the section about composers probably the best, although the history of orchestras was fascinating as well. This book is classified as juvenile nonfiction but it's equally good for teens and adults.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspired by Benjamin Britten's piece, The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, which was composed in 1945 as an introduction to orchestral music, Anita Ganeri has written this informative yet fascinating guide to the orchestra. The accompanying CD is narrated by Ben Kingsley. He "gives listeners a lively guided tour of Britten's music, describing the sounds made by each instrument." The book is full of information, but it is accessible. It is a lot more entertaining than I thought it would be! If you'd asked me beforehand, I would have bet it would be boring and dry. But it's far from that. The CD and book complement one another well. It is not a recording of the book itself. It stands alone--could stand alone--from the book. And the book could be read and appreciated apart from the CD. However, it only makes sense to give both a try! You might find yourself preferring one over the other. After all, we all learn differently.

[David Braly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This elegant hardcover book-and-CD package introduces the sights and sounds of the orchestra. After listening to the sounds of each instrument on the CD--from mellow flutes to blazing trumpets--readers may turn to the accompanying book to learn more about the orchestra and its instruments. All are invited to tour each section--string, woodwind, brass, and percussion--to discover what makes classical music so universally expressive. --American Bookseller

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read for Reading Rainbow Episode "Berlioz the Bear."
You'd think the book would be in the same order as the CD since they came together, but no.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an informative companion to Benjamin Britten's musical piece of the same name.