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The Story Orchestra: The Magic Flute: Press the note to hear Mozart's music
Discover the sorcery of The Magic Flute in this musical retelling of the opera—push the button on each beautiful scene to hear the vivid sound of an orchestra playing, and singers singing, from Mozart’s score.
This classic opera, reworked for the benefit of younger readers, tells a tale of a prince, a princess and a magic flute, which begins in a mountain ridge between two magical lands. Prince Tamino enters, chased by a dragon, but three brave mountain rangers gallop past on horseback to rescue him.
His cowardly friend Papageno comes out from his hiding place and they revive the prince. The rangers ask for one favor in return. Their boss, the Queen of the Night , asks Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter, Princess Pamina, from the evil Sun King. She gives Tamino a magic flute and Papageno some magic bells to help them.
The story follows Prince Tamino as he breaks into the Sun King’s palace, charms the court with his magic flute, and gets caught by the guards. Will the prince escape with the princess?
As you and your little one journey through the magical scenes, you will press the buttons to hear 10 excerpts from the opera’s music . Readers should press firmly on the pages to activate the sounds, encouraging interactive learning and introducing children to this beautiful piece of music .
At the back of the book, find a short biography of the composer, Mozart, with details about his composition of The Magic Flute . Next to this, you can replay the musical excerpts and, for each of them, read a discussion of the instruments, rhythms, and musical techniques that make them so powerful. A glossary defines musical terms.
The Story Orchestra series brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet, opera, and program music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. With The Story Orchestra keyboard sound books, children can play the famous melodies themselves with the sound of a real grand piano.
Also available from the series : I Can Play (vol 1) , Carnival of the Animals , Swan Lake , The Sleeping Beauty , The Nutcracker , and Four Seasons in One Day .
Manufacturer’s please pull the white tab out of the back of the book before use. Sound buttons require a firm push in exact location to work, which may be hard for young children. All sound clips are 10 seconds long.
The perfect primer to introduce children to classical music.
This classic opera, reworked for the benefit of younger readers, tells a tale of a prince, a princess and a magic flute, which begins in a mountain ridge between two magical lands. Prince Tamino enters, chased by a dragon, but three brave mountain rangers gallop past on horseback to rescue him.
His cowardly friend Papageno comes out from his hiding place and they revive the prince. The rangers ask for one favor in return. Their boss, the Queen of the Night , asks Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter, Princess Pamina, from the evil Sun King. She gives Tamino a magic flute and Papageno some magic bells to help them.
The story follows Prince Tamino as he breaks into the Sun King’s palace, charms the court with his magic flute, and gets caught by the guards. Will the prince escape with the princess?
As you and your little one journey through the magical scenes, you will press the buttons to hear 10 excerpts from the opera’s music . Readers should press firmly on the pages to activate the sounds, encouraging interactive learning and introducing children to this beautiful piece of music .
At the back of the book, find a short biography of the composer, Mozart, with details about his composition of The Magic Flute . Next to this, you can replay the musical excerpts and, for each of them, read a discussion of the instruments, rhythms, and musical techniques that make them so powerful. A glossary defines musical terms.
The Story Orchestra series brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet, opera, and program music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. With The Story Orchestra keyboard sound books, children can play the famous melodies themselves with the sound of a real grand piano.
Also available from the series : I Can Play (vol 1) , Carnival of the Animals , Swan Lake , The Sleeping Beauty , The Nutcracker , and Four Seasons in One Day .
Manufacturer’s please pull the white tab out of the back of the book before use. Sound buttons require a firm push in exact location to work, which may be hard for young children. All sound clips are 10 seconds long.
The perfect primer to introduce children to classical music.
24 pages, Hardcover
Published November 16, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 9, 2026
I love this series!
This is such a wonderful way to introduce your children to classical music! With delightful and colorful illustrations on each page and clear recorded snippets from the piece, your children will enjoy this sensory reading experience!
Hit the magical note on each page to get the music going. Included in the back is the various titles of the movements, descriptions, and a little history/interesting facts.
Ages: 2+
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
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This is such a wonderful way to introduce your children to classical music! With delightful and colorful illustrations on each page and clear recorded snippets from the piece, your children will enjoy this sensory reading experience!
Hit the magical note on each page to get the music going. Included in the back is the various titles of the movements, descriptions, and a little history/interesting facts.
Ages: 2+
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
April 23, 2025
4.5 Stars
~
These books are gorgeous - illustrations and music selections. This was in my 6-year-old’s Easter basket this year and she adores it. The Magic Flute is her favourite opera and she has been reading and playing this book over and over.
I’m sure it’s difficult to turn a 3-hour opera into a short children’s book. It stuck to the story close enough to make sense, but I wish they could have added more details. It was just a little too short for me.
The music selections are described in detail on the back page, which is wonderful. There’s also a glossary and a bit about the composer.
~
These books are gorgeous - illustrations and music selections. This was in my 6-year-old’s Easter basket this year and she adores it. The Magic Flute is her favourite opera and she has been reading and playing this book over and over.
I’m sure it’s difficult to turn a 3-hour opera into a short children’s book. It stuck to the story close enough to make sense, but I wish they could have added more details. It was just a little too short for me.
The music selections are described in detail on the back page, which is wonderful. There’s also a glossary and a bit about the composer.
January 23, 2023
Beautifully illustrated and reimagined. My child is obsessed with this book and I love reading it.
This version alters and simplifies Mozart's original plot to exclude the trials and the creepy Monostatos. It puts the Queen of the Night and Sorastro (here referred to as the Sun King) on more even footing as warring neighbors, rather than a spiteful widow and a calm intellectual. Simplifying the plot leads to one of the songs being depicted out of order ("Hm hm hm hm" in the book comes before Tamino's aria about Pamina's beauty), which is confusing when we listen to the full opera together.
I only wish there had been more Papageno, the true protagonist of this opera!
This version alters and simplifies Mozart's original plot to exclude the trials and the creepy Monostatos. It puts the Queen of the Night and Sorastro (here referred to as the Sun King) on more even footing as warring neighbors, rather than a spiteful widow and a calm intellectual. Simplifying the plot leads to one of the songs being depicted out of order ("Hm hm hm hm" in the book comes before Tamino's aria about Pamina's beauty), which is confusing when we listen to the full opera together.
I only wish there had been more Papageno, the true protagonist of this opera!
July 26, 2021
A visually stunning portrayal of The Magic Flute, the Mozart opera, albeit with some added wokeness splashed over its few pages. The book has a multitude of buttons to push to get the music presented, while the pages and their short paragraphs convey the bare bones of the plot. I'll leave it to you as to whether this is a better way of getting the story across than just showing someone the opera with explanations, as opposed to the heavy editing involved here. What I can confidently say is the artistic style has some very notable features – with a surprising emphasis on the straight line it really punches some strong dynamism on to the pages. Forgetting the musical trickery, as a way to provide a blunt little fairy story this has definitely got some impact; as a way in to the world of opera and classical music, I'm not quite so convinced. But three and a half stars, and I'd be quite happy if my doubts were unfounded.
July 23, 2026
This is a brilliant book for kids in that awkward age between one and eighteen months when nothing is made for them, and it got my granddaughter to begin devouring books rather than actually devouring them. I mean, we read them to her, but ....
It was her first Storybook Orchestra book. I saw it at the library and as a true grandson of Prague, where the opera made almost all its money and broke the link between operas and patrons by appealing to the public, I brought it home. We almost completely ran down the batteries (for the snippets of music) in about ten days.
It's appropriate for kids up to middle school frankly, with a final page of explanatory musical analysis following the penultimate page with an author biography and musical glossary. The music is VERY well chosen.
It was her first Storybook Orchestra book. I saw it at the library and as a true grandson of Prague, where the opera made almost all its money and broke the link between operas and patrons by appealing to the public, I brought it home. We almost completely ran down the batteries (for the snippets of music) in about ten days.
It's appropriate for kids up to middle school frankly, with a final page of explanatory musical analysis following the penultimate page with an author biography and musical glossary. The music is VERY well chosen.
November 22, 2021
The latest Story Orchestra book has singing as well as music in this adaptation of Mozart's The Magic Flute. The Kingdom of the Sun and the Kingdom of the Moon are at war. Prince Tamino (from which kingdom? A third, maybe?) accepts the task to rescue the Moon Princess from the Sun King. The art manages to capture the epicness, but I had some trouble following the story. My kids are happy to push buttons and dance to the music.
December 27, 2023
My 2yo *loves* Story Orchestra and this was his special book gift for Christmas this year.
The story was so poorly written that I was convinced a page was missing, but there isn't
There are 3 full pages of intro. He meets the princess for one page, papageno saves them., queen shows up and there's a battle. The end. Not great.
Skips Sarastro's solo, skips Pa-pa-.
2 stars because my son still likes it, and the artwork continues to be quite beautiful.
The story was so poorly written that I was convinced a page was missing, but there isn't
There are 3 full pages of intro. He meets the princess for one page, papageno saves them., queen shows up and there's a battle. The end. Not great.
Skips Sarastro's solo, skips Pa-pa-.
2 stars because my son still likes it, and the artwork continues to be quite beautiful.
March 31, 2022
The illustrations really make this book! I had not seen the opera “The Magic Flute,” so I enjoyed reading it. I admit I did not listen to the music throughout the story (since I was reading it in the library,) but I think the presentation was well done! It would be the perfect introduction to an opera for a kiddo, and adults can enjoy it, as well!
December 30, 2023
4 stars
This interactive book brings to life the story of the opera The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each tableau features a button to press with a musical selection to bring the tale to life.
This interactive book brings to life the story of the opera The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Each tableau features a button to press with a musical selection to bring the tale to life.
November 21, 2021
The art and music in this book are splendid. Highly recommend as a gift for kids during the holidays.
July 15, 2022
Just lovely. They all are. I really like how they modernised it.
August 15, 2023
Nice illustrations. My kids love to press the buttons and hear the music.
August 2, 2024
This series is delightful. Mozart music for young readers. Enjoy.
December 11, 2025
This entire series is delightful.
My grandsons LOVE them and know exactly what button to push when the story is being read to them!
My grandsons LOVE them and know exactly what button to push when the story is being read to them!
April 29, 2026
Very cute book and my 2 year old loves it.
April 14, 2024
This book hasn't only been an introduction to my 1 year old to classical music it quickly became a family favourite. The beautiful illustrations and the music for each scene make reading this book a real pleasure. At the end of the book readers also learn about Mozart's life and most basic concepts of an opera.
December 30, 2021
REZENSION.
.
Die Zauberflöte - W.A. Mozart.
Halloooooooooo Freunde des geschriebenen Worts - heute mal was anderes. Auf dem @bloggerportal habe ich dieses interaktive Buch für Kinder entdeckt: „Die Zauberflöte“ als Bilderbuch mit musikalischer Untermalung. Da ich schlicht gesagt eine komplette Null was Opern, Theater und Co angeht, dachte ich mir: „Katharina, das macht es dir einfach, mal über den Tellerrand zu blicken.“
.
Ich muss feststellen: ich finde die Idee richtig toll. Spielerisch an ein doch sehr komplexes (und oft unverständliches..?) Medium wie eine Oper heranzugehen, finde ich brillant.
.
Die Geschichte über Prinz Tamino, der die Tochter der Königin der Nacht vom Sonnenkönig befreien soll, ist vereinfacht und für Kinder aufbereitet. Zur Seite steht ihm der Vogelfänger Papageno und die Zauberflöte. Einige Passagen der Handlung werden zu Gunsten der Verständlichkeit ausgelassen - und das finde ich auch gut so. Der Kern der Story ist da und bleibt bestehen: Der Kampf zwischen Hell & Dunkel, wobei Liebe die größte Macht hat.
.
Die Illustrationen von @jctickle sind märchenhaft - einfach gehalten, aber durch die bunten kräftigen Farben und starken Kontraste bleiben sie umso mehr im Kopf und hinterlassen wortwörtlich Eindruck. Ein Buch, bei dem ich mich freue, es irgendwann meinen Kindern zu zeigen.
.
Auf jeder Seite gab es einen Druckknopf, um das passende Musikstück zur jeweiligen Szene zu hören: eine wunderschöne Idee. Die zauberhafte Musik kam für mich leider jedoch etwas zu kurz - neben den bildgewaltigen Seiten gingen die kurz gehaltenen Musikpassagen leider ein wenig unter. Allerdings muss man denk ich kein/e Elektriker:in sein, um sich auszumalen, wieviel Kapazität so eine kleine Bubu-Batterie hat.
.
Hinten im Buch werden zusätzlich in einem kurzen Glossar ein paar wichtige Begriffe der Oper erklärt und Mozart, als Komponist, wird vorgestellt.
.
Fazit: Ganz tolle Idee, um Kindern klassische Musik näher und vor allem auch schmackhaft zu machen. Ok, nicht nur Kindern, sondern auch Kathis: diese Kathi würde jetzt nämlich gerne „die Zauberflöte“ in der Oper ansehen.
.
Die Zauberflöte - W.A. Mozart.
Halloooooooooo Freunde des geschriebenen Worts - heute mal was anderes. Auf dem @bloggerportal habe ich dieses interaktive Buch für Kinder entdeckt: „Die Zauberflöte“ als Bilderbuch mit musikalischer Untermalung. Da ich schlicht gesagt eine komplette Null was Opern, Theater und Co angeht, dachte ich mir: „Katharina, das macht es dir einfach, mal über den Tellerrand zu blicken.“
.
Ich muss feststellen: ich finde die Idee richtig toll. Spielerisch an ein doch sehr komplexes (und oft unverständliches..?) Medium wie eine Oper heranzugehen, finde ich brillant.
.
Die Geschichte über Prinz Tamino, der die Tochter der Königin der Nacht vom Sonnenkönig befreien soll, ist vereinfacht und für Kinder aufbereitet. Zur Seite steht ihm der Vogelfänger Papageno und die Zauberflöte. Einige Passagen der Handlung werden zu Gunsten der Verständlichkeit ausgelassen - und das finde ich auch gut so. Der Kern der Story ist da und bleibt bestehen: Der Kampf zwischen Hell & Dunkel, wobei Liebe die größte Macht hat.
.
Die Illustrationen von @jctickle sind märchenhaft - einfach gehalten, aber durch die bunten kräftigen Farben und starken Kontraste bleiben sie umso mehr im Kopf und hinterlassen wortwörtlich Eindruck. Ein Buch, bei dem ich mich freue, es irgendwann meinen Kindern zu zeigen.
.
Auf jeder Seite gab es einen Druckknopf, um das passende Musikstück zur jeweiligen Szene zu hören: eine wunderschöne Idee. Die zauberhafte Musik kam für mich leider jedoch etwas zu kurz - neben den bildgewaltigen Seiten gingen die kurz gehaltenen Musikpassagen leider ein wenig unter. Allerdings muss man denk ich kein/e Elektriker:in sein, um sich auszumalen, wieviel Kapazität so eine kleine Bubu-Batterie hat.
.
Hinten im Buch werden zusätzlich in einem kurzen Glossar ein paar wichtige Begriffe der Oper erklärt und Mozart, als Komponist, wird vorgestellt.
.
Fazit: Ganz tolle Idee, um Kindern klassische Musik näher und vor allem auch schmackhaft zu machen. Ok, nicht nur Kindern, sondern auch Kathis: diese Kathi würde jetzt nämlich gerne „die Zauberflöte“ in der Oper ansehen.
December 24, 2021
The illustrations are gorgeous, as always. However, I was surprised and disappointed by some of the song selections...or lack thereof. No Der Vogelfanger Bin Ich Ja?? None of Tamino and Pamina's duets? No Papageno and Papagena's duet?! Come to that, no Papagena at all...which brings me to my second complaint: the retelling. There is plenty about the original plot that's trashy; adults should keep in mind the time period in which it was written and get over themselves. For children, the trashy bits should of course be omitted or toned down in an age appropriate manner. As they get older, some of these aspects can be used as discussion points. But to completely change the story? To get rid of some of the best bits? Take away the Women Are Evil rubbish and weird Freemasonry and you have a perfectly wonderful story of Heroism and True Love. There's no need to go further and completely destroy one love story and completely omit the other. (Hello, Papageno and Papagena are the best part of the entire show!) Oi. I will assume this adaptation is by someone who never actually saw the opera.
With all of that... the illustrations are gorgeous, as always. I will treasure this one for the pictures and share them with my daughter. But this adaptation won't be the one I use to introduce her to the story.
With all of that... the illustrations are gorgeous, as always. I will treasure this one for the pictures and share them with my daughter. But this adaptation won't be the one I use to introduce her to the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews