PPP080: Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid

19Feb 2018 by Shelly Davis

Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid

Welcome to the Piano Parent Podcast show notes for Episode 080. Every tenth episode features a list of ten things to help you in your musical journey. Today’s episode is one of my favorites: Ten Books to Read with Your Piano Kid!

Click here to listen to the other Tenth Episodes.

Thanks to my co-host and fellow book lover, Dawn Ivers for offering her top picks.

Book One

Children’s Book of Music DK Publishing

(Reference book for all ages)

We like this book as it serves as a great reference for piano students to learn about musical time periods, types of music, and listen to great music. You can study a few pages at a time and enjoy different parts depending on what you interests you.

Here is a YouTube video of Britten’s “Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra”

Book Two

Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue Anna Harwell Calenza

(Picture book with listening CD for ages 6-9)

This book gives the backstory behind the composing of Rhapsody in Blue. The more history I learn about a topic, the more interested I become. This book tells an interesting story with lovely, colorful pictures.

Gershwin’s masterpiece was featured in Disney’s Fantasia 2000. I just love this video!

Book Three

Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist, Nina Simone Alice Briere-Haquet

(Short picture book for ages 4-8)

In addition to telling the story of Nina Simone, this book also conveys the idea that music is for all people and dreams need to be taken care of. Highlighting the subject matter, this book uses lovely black and white illustrations. A moving book for children and parents alike, just in time for February’s Black History Month.

Nina Simone was the recommended musician that Nicola Cantan referred to in her teacher interview in Episode 071.

Book Four

Becoming Bach Tom Leonard

(Picture book for ages 4-8)

A beautiful first book written by illustrator, Tom Leonard. Even if you aren’t interested in music, the book is worth a look for the illustrations alone. This book features patterns which are a mainstay of music while telling the story of Johan Sebastian Bach.

These Bach pieces contain lovely pattern-based melodies that you and your piano kid might enjoy.

Bach Cello Suite in G

Prelude in C for piano

Book Five

Peter & the Wolf Janet Schulman

(Picture book with listening CD for ages 3-7)

Peter and the Wolf was a musical fairy tale written by Sergei Prokofiev to help children learn the tone qualities and sounds of the instrument families of the orchestra. **One caution for very young children** This book does include hunters as well as a poor duck that the wolf swallows but it does have a happy ending. My first-grade students enjoy the suspense and cheer when the duck rejoins the story. It is a wonderful book for introducing the concept of musical themes to children.

Book Six

Echo Pam Munoz Ryan

(Chapter book recommended for ages 10-14)

The fictional account of a harmonica that begins with a fairy tale feel and meanders its way to the World War II era. As the harmonica changes hands from person to person, each one changes in some way. As a music teacher, this book shows how music can help us express ourselves when we may not have the tools to express it another way. The book also explores how music can connect generations through time and space.

Book Seven

Symphony for the City of the Dead MT Anderson

(Chapter book recommended for older students, grade 9 and up)

The non-fictional account of Dimitri Shostakovich writing the Leningrad Symphony which highlights the power of music to unite and communicate between people in very difficult times. This is an excerpt from the book description on Amazon, “This is the true story of a city under siege: the triumph of bravery and defiance in the face of terrifying odds. It is also a look at the power—and layered meaning—of music in beleaguered lives. Symphony for the City of the Dead is a masterwork thrillingly told and impeccably researched by National Book Award-winning author M. T. Anderson.”

Listen to the Leningrad Symphony on Youtube

Book Eight

The Remarkable Farkle McBride John Lithgow (yes, THAT John Lithgow!)

(Picture book for ages 4-8)

Another book for helping children learn about the different instruments of the orchestra. Young Farkle McBride plays instruments from all the musical families but none of them gives him the musical satisfaction he yearns for. Fun onomatopoeia words might be challenging for younger readers; that is all the more reason for you and your piano kid to read together.

Lovely video of John Lithgow narrating his book with orchestral accompaniment written by Bill Elliot.

Book Nine

Composer is Dead Lemony Snicket

(Picture book for ages 4-8)

Another offering from Lemony Snicket, the author of the Series of Unfortunate Events, this book is wonderful for a student who is frustrated with their musical studies for one reason or another. It is a nice way to lighten the mood if your performer didn’t quite have the performance they hoped for.

Book Ten

The Music of Life Elizabeth Rusch

(Picture book for ages 4-8)

A favorite book for piano teachers because it tells the story of the invention of the piano. The book is colorfully illustrated as it shares the struggles of piano inventor Bartolomeo Cristofori and sprinkles musical terminology throughout.

See a harpsichord, the forerunner of the piano, in action in this video: Scarlatti Sonata in D minor played on Harpsichord

Here is a nice video explaining the progression from the clavichord to the modern piano.

Bonus Book for Parents

How Am I Smart? Dr. Kathy Koch

Ever since I heard Dr. Kathy speak and read this book, I have had a greater appreciation for the way my mind processes and receives information. It has helped me to be aware of how my children and my students receive new information. Some people are “word smart” and learn best by reading and writing. Some people, however, do much better if they learn while they move. They are “body smart”. Have you ever learned facts put to music? You were using your “music smart”!

This is a video of an audiobook from Dr. Koch’s updated version of “How Am I Smart?” I wish I could have found a video of Dr. Kathy speaking on this subject herself but this will have to suffice for now.

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