Musical Tales & Tunes

The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport

The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood, illus. by Sally Wern Compo and documentary DVD.

Hear the story by Jan Brett. Then go behind the scenes with The Boys Choir of Harlem and visit street musicians in New York.

In the story by Jonathan London, a cat creates a sound all his own and sees how the rhyme and rhythms affect his audience.

In the book by Tomi dePaola a young Indian boy follows his vision quest for a special gift he can give to his people. He discovers the Pueblo Indian peoples' use of natural materials in their pottery, painting and dance. 

John Steptoe's Caldecott Honor book retells Cinderella story and introduces the tale as well as history, culture of Zimbabwe.

The fairy tale of the miller's daughter who gets help spinning straw into gold.  LaVar Burton visits the Renaissance festival where daily life is re-enacted and traveling performers.

In the book by Petra Mathers a shy mouse teaches herself to dance.  From mambo to hip-hop, host LeVar Burton does some fancy footwork, then he takes us on a tour of dance around the world.

In the book by Margaree King Mitchell, Uncle Jed, a black barber, struggles through the Great Depression to save enough money to open his own barbershop.

This Emmy Award-winning series inspires a love of reading in PreK-3, and offers an excellent introduction to many varieties of music through the medium of the best children's literature. Highly recommended.