Peter and the Wolf

by Sergei Prokofiev

Book Overview

Sergei Prokofiev composed his Peter and the Wolf in 1936 with the hope of introducing children to the instruments of the orchestra. It happens that he also devised a wonderfully dramatic story. The... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0689856520
• Release Date: November 2008
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 10.0" x 0.4" x 10.0"

Customer Reviews

Must Be Read with Energy and Imagination

I certainly understand the concerns and issues that other reviewers raise about this book. It's different than most children's books in its art and the layout of the text, and it does help to have some familiarity with the story of Peter and the Wolf as there isn't a lot of narrative to help make the storyline clear. However, if you know the tale and can help fill in the book's gaps to your kid(s), and if you're up for reading in an creative, energetic way (different voices and lots of emotion), this is a fun one. Like Sergei Prokoflev's original "symphonic children's classic," the medium merely serves as a device for one's imagination. For Prokoflev, the medium was the music. The various instruments and their melodies brought to mind the various characters and their actions and emotions. For Chris Raschka (the author/illustrator of this book), the medium is the printed page. The text sounds and feels like the characters, while the drawings give a snapshot that your imagination can run with. Consequently, the "dialogue" of the animals and humans and their interaction in the illustrations can look rather nonsensical on the pages...but - if you allow it - the words take on great personality and spirit. So, there's much to be enjoyed...it just takes a little energy and imagination. And background knowledge ;-)

My grandchildren loved this

As a child, Peter and the Wolf was one of my favorite classical pieces ever. This is a beautiful book! I bought it for 2 of my grandchildren (8y & 2y) to go with a CD. It fits with the music very well, and my grandchildren loved it as much as I did. The cost was also very reasonable. Thanks for making this available.

Peter and the Wolf connects!

A spectacular visual accompaniment to the music and narration! Beautiful pictures. My 2-year-old daughter asks for the music by name and sits down looking at the book while she listens to the instruments, pointing out the different animals/characters when she hears the different instruments appear. I never imagined she'd be learning words for "oboe" and "clarinet" at this point, never mind their sounds, but she is entranced and easily goes back and forth between the music, the story, and the different instruments and characters.

Get it and you won't regret it....

This book and CD are great for several reasons. As a lifelong U2 fan, I would of course buy it because Bono illustrated it, but that alone doesn't being to cover how cool this. "Peter and the Wolf" is a great children's story to begin with. Add in some great and very interesting illustrations done by Bono, Gavin Friday reading the story, as well as assembling a great arrangement for the music and you have a sure-fire, can't miss edition. The edition is well packaged and would make a great gift. It comes in a box, which includes the CD and book. The music is amazing. Different instruments are used that you normally wouldn't find and I found myself wishing that this had been around when I was a kid. Then maybe I would have enjoyed it more! As it is, it makes me smile. Bono's illustrations are extremely unique. They are deceptively plain and simple. I personally wouldn't expect anything less from him. Although, a warning, there are a couple of illustrations that may be slightly questionable for children. The real star with this is Gavin Friday, most famous, (perhaps unfortunately for such a talented guy) for being Bono's friend. Friday's voice is perfect for this telling. He has a unique voice in his music and he has applied it here. I could listen to it over and over again. The CD also has an enhanced feature with a behind-scenes documentary and gallery for PCs. If you paid attention to nothing else, this is the bottom line. "Peter and the Wolf" extremely good all around, and it is even for a good cause, benefiting the Irish Hospice program. Can't beat that!

A great book for little people who love music!

Our children, 3 year old twins, love the music of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. In searching for an age appropriate book to show them the musical instruments that play each of the characters, we found this one illustrated by Ian Beck. Not only are the illustrations lovely, the colors and clothing of Peter, the hunters and the grandfather are interesting to a child. Also, each page shows the instrument played for that part of the story (find it in the box around the text), and in the back a page illustrates each instrument. We cannot recommend this lovely book enough to parents of young children discovering the beauty of music!