Musical Books for a Magical Childhood: Part 2
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A couple of weeks ago myself and my husband brought our three young children to the MET in NYC on a random Saturday afternoon. We didn’t have any set plan or expectations, but rather just thought it would be a nice way to spend an afternoon. Funnily enough, it’s not a very common sight to see families with young children walking around the MET. I suppose to some people it seems like a strange idea to bring young kids somewhere they “won’t really understand” or “truly appreciate.”
But in my view- that’s the whole point. If we don’t bring our children to see masterpieces of art or listen to beautiful works of music, how will they learn to appreciate and love beauty? We have severely underestimated how deeply intelligent children are, and how much they absorb. For some reason, we assume that if a child can’t verbally articulate what they’re see or hearing, then it isn’t worth doing. I vehemently disagree.
This mindset is one of the reasons we see less participation in, and love for, classical and jazz music. We are not exposing children early enough to music that is truly rich, complex and intellectually nourishing. And in doing so, we’re missing a key window in time when their minds and tastes are being formed.
When I was in college, my piano professor would tell me stories of growing up in his Italian household. His parents would cook pasta and simmer sauce from scratch while drinking wine and blasting opera in the kitchen - some of his most beloved memories from his childhood.
The way he relayed these stories to me always captured my imagination. I felt I could smell the sauce cooking and the warmth, love and joy in the air from his stories. But now, in the year 2025, I often wonder: how many children will grow up with memories like that? How many will remember listening to opera, or discovering truly wondrous works of music? Will these pieces of music cease to be woven into the fabric of childhood?
I truly hope not. When my first child was born I would play “The Carnival of the Animals,” every day for him. To this day when we play this piece of music, he can identify each section by its animal.
I’ve chosen to focus on classical and jazz music for this part of my musical books series, not because I think pop or contemporary music is less than - quite the opposite - but because classical and jazz are quietly slipping out of family life. They’re no longer built into the memories formed in our homes, and that’s when musical traditions begin to die. If we don’t associate nostalgia, warmth, and affection with these genres because we heard them when we were young, it becomes much harder to cultivate true appreciation later in life.
We all have music from our childhood that we love instantly. I think again of my piano professor, whose love of opera was inseparable from the laughter and cooking of his childhood home. Those formative moments shaped him and shaped his musicianship.
So why are classical and jazz music so important? Why should we nurture a love for these forms in our children?
The best way I can explain it is through a good simile (music teachers are notorious for loving a good simile or metaphor). Music is very much like nutrition in that it feeds the mind. If we feed the body wholesome food, we feel good, healthy and strong. If we feed the mind beautiful music, our inner world becomes inspired, uplifted, joyful and creative! Classical and jazz music represent some of the highest expressions of human ingenuity, creativity, and brilliance. They are works of art! Listening to a Mozart symphony is rather similar to looking at Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel - they both make us marvel at the beauty and creative force within us!
In Part 2 of this musical book series, I wanted to curate books that inspire a love of classical and jazz music, musical instruments, and musical traditions we may not encounter every day. When children grow up hearing beautiful music, they learn to love and understand it. These books are meant to spark curiosity and awareness in a child friendly way.
I hope these books help cultivate a lifelong love of classical and jazz music for your little ones - so we can build a future where adults feel inspired, uplifted, creative and joyful.
"Children need art and stories and poems and music as much as they need love and food and fresh air and play." -Phillip Pullman
Important (Please Read):
I’ve linked many of the book covers and titles below through Bookshop.org, which is a wonderful platform that supports independent bookstores! You can buy directly from local bookstores through their website, and 80% of their profit goes back to bookstores! I always aim to use my online presence to uplift businesses (especially small businesses) doing positive things. However, many of these books are hard to find on Bookshop.org so I linked through Amazon in those cases. And keep in mind, some of these books are hard to find, or out of print, so perusing second hand book websites may be a better option for the best price. I have included Amazon links at the bottom of the post. And finally, this is a BIG list of books- try your local library and see if you can check some of them out first. <3
If you enjoyed reading this blog post and appreciate my work, I would be honored if you would consider donating to Hurricane Melissa Relief for Jamaica. There are so many families right now without food and homes and they are relying on the generosity of every day folks like ourselves to help them. If you can spare any amount please consider donating! Let’s show the people of Jamaica they are not forgotten.
For the Love of Music Books: Classical & Jazz
Carnival of the Animals is probably my favorite classical piece of music for children. And when I say classical, technically it is a Late Romantic piece of music, but as society generalizes most music with instruments, that has stood the test of time as classical music, I will use that term for ease. Carnival of the Animals was composed by Camille Saint-Saens and is an absolute genius masterpiece, despite him writing it as joke! When you listen to each movement you can hear the animals depicted by the instruments and music. This particular book has very rich verses written that accompany each orchestral character piece and it’s brilliant! “Welcome to our carnival, where birds and beasts and such behave a lot like people do, at time a bit too much.” And the illustrations are imaginative, unique and spellbinding. This book has been loved so much in our home that pages have been taped together carefully after one too many page turns.
Carnival of the Animals #2 I love Carnival of the Animals so much that I couldn’t narrow down to just one book and also had to include this version. This book is particularly helpful for parents new to this piece of music because it explains the instruments that you are hearing and how the instruments represent the animal. It tells you what to listen for and the illustrations are very dreamy. This book is a true guide and really shows you the way when listening to this work.
Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin is a quirky delight of a book with it’s wonderful illustrations and rhythmic prose. The rhyming is spectacular in this book and children not only learn how to count and how they make up different instrumentations (solo, duo, trio, quartet….), they learn about instruments and the phrasing of the verses seem to emulate the sounds of the instruments. You need to read this book with a swing and make the words their own little musical sentences. After a few reads your child will probably even begin to recite it themselves.
Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue Everything about the backstory behind this masterpiece of music is hilarious and the book truly writes itself! I bet you didn’t know that the iconic Rhapsody in Blue was written in only 5 weeks! George Gershwin read in a newspaper he was already scheduled to premiere a new piece he hadn’t even started! Talk about thriving under tight deadlines. There are so many marvelous tidbits about the story behind this iconic piece of music and this little gem of a book depicts 1920’s NYC in all it’s art deco splendor and just makes you want to time travel back in time. It tells the story with humor and lovely illustrations and young children will never forget this story and will forever recognize Rhapsody in Blue from the very first clarinet sliding swoop glissando. It also is a perfect example of the blend of classical and jazz music and the creation of a new and very bold American sound.
The Magic Flute Many operas can often have difficult storylines, and what I love about this slightly hard to find book is that it breaks down the plot line so that it’s simple enough for children to understand. Mozart’s wonderful opera is beautifully and simply retold with gorgeous illustrations. I have found that this book even appeals to adults wanting to understand the opera more deeply. If the book is overpriced at the links try looking on second hand book websites and you may score a used copy at a great price.
Peter and the Wolf This is without a doubt another favorite and loved piece of music in our household. This book beautifully tells the story with rich and beautiful illustrations and my children have loved this version the most because of the gorgeous pictures. I would be remiss if I also didn’t mention the spectacular recording of Peter and the Wolf with Boris Karloff. We have listened to it more times that we can count and my children have enjoyed flipping through the book while listening to the music and story. This piece of music is particularly special because Prokofiev used particular instruments to represent the characters of the story and this is where children begin to realize the storytelling ability of music and the magic that can be woven in our imagination through the power of music. I always wish that more composers had created more pieces of music like this that directly speak to children and tell a story!
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra This gem of a book tells the story of the Jazz legend Duke Ellington. It really weaves in a lot of history and his story growing up. On a personal note Duke Ellington is one of my favorites and I absolutely love his music (who could not love listening to “In a Sentimental Mood?”). I love that this book has incredible illustrations and tells so many parts of his life. It is more well suited for kids 5/6+ I would say, as the story is involved and includes lots of facts. If reading to a younger child I would shorten the story and let them enjoy the pictures while listening to some of Ellington’s music.
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop On the theme of Jazz giants, this is another book about the great Charlie Parker who went by the nickname “Bird,” in case you ever find yourself on Jeopardy. ;) If you want a book that introduces jazz music in a very child friendly way, then this is the book! The way the words are even written is jazzy! You won’t know what I mean until you see this book in person, but this book needs to swing. You need to read it like you are playing trumpet or sax. Your words will be the music! When you see the way this book is written and illustrated you will know exactly what I mean and even better, young kids will get it right away, too!
Meet the Orchestra If we want children to learn about instruments and the orchestra, we should start from the very beginning in a fun way. I love this book because it goes over the instruments of the orchestra and depicts a different animal playing each instrument. Picture an alligator in a tux playing the timpani - how fun is that? Each description of the instruments is not only child friendly, but describes the instruments so perfectly and even humorously in a way that makes it memorable to kids and adults alike!
A Tisket, A Tasket Ella Fitzgerald shot to fame after releasing her recording “A-Tisket, A-Tasket” in 1938. This special song was inspired by the nursery rhyme and childhood game by the same name. This book is hard to find and the price may be inflated at some of my links - just keep an eye out again on the used book sites. If you are not new to my book recommendations you will know my love of wonderful illustrators; the charming cut-paper illustrations in this book do not disappoint! If you love clapping games and a-tisket, a-tasket, I made a mini-lesson on this iconic song.
Sing Me a Story Imagine a Grimm’s style story book, but about the famous opera stories, and you have the Metropolitan Opera’s Book of Opera Stories for Children in a nutshell. This is a big book that tells the stories of 15 of some of the best opera stories: Aida, La Boheme, The Magic Flute, Porgy and Bess and Carmen among others. The language is rich, like Grimm’s fairytales, and there are a few beautiful illustrations, but I should emphasize this is not a picture book, but rather a story book. Adults may even love this book if they are unfamiliar with the stories.
Animal Orchestra Okay, I know this is my second book on this list about the orchestra and with animals, but I LOVE this book! It’s well suited for the littlest of kids - it’s never too early to talk about the orchestra and even a 2 year old can identify a french horn if shown. This book is definitely hard to find, but if you have a baby or little toddler keep it on a watchlist - it is brilliantly simple with few words and goes over counting from numbers 1- 10, and little children have fun counting the animals on each page playing the instruments. The pictures are so, so delightful and wonderful and I just think it’s such a special book. If I was giving a book as a baby shower gift, this would be a top contender!
I Know a Shy Fellow Who Swallowed a Cello Remember back to Part 1 of this musical book series where I spoke about There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly? This book is based off of that song. The rhyming is off the meters good and it can be sung like There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Bonus points if you add silly voices and sound effects when reading/singing this book. I think this book is such a favorite among children because the silliness is the best! It is pure fun and a must have book in my opinion!
Berlioz the Bear This charming book tells the story of Berlioz who plays the bass and who’s instrument has developed an alarming buzz. I think any person who plays a stringed instrument will immediately relate with Berlioz and the alarm (IYKYK). It’s even understandable when he steers the bandwagon he is on with his fellow musicians into a hole where they all get stuck! Jan Brett’s illustrations are pure magic as always and bring this story to life. I recently read this story book to a group of 4-5 year olds and they LOVED it. They were so engaged with the story and were really rooting for Berlioz to get to his gig. I think these types of stories are really important for young children and help develop their knowledge of music, musicians and the whole world of music! I also recommend listening to “The Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimski-Korsakov at the end of the book. You will have to read the book to find out why! :)
Opera Cat Along the same lines of reading stories to young children about music and musicians, this heartwarming and hilarious story brings to life the story of an opera singer’s cat. The storyline is great and the illustrations are wonderful and I know your children will enjoy this story immensely!
Moonlight on the Magic Flute (Magic Treehouse) This chapter book is a bit of an oddity compared to my other selections, but if you have a 4-7+ year old who loves Magic Treehouse, then this story is a must! Annie and Jack have to travel back in time to Austria and help a musician by the name of Mozart. What I love about the Magic Treehouse series is that the books have a way of mixing fact and fiction and always, always succeed in developing a curiosity in children. This book is a perfect window for children to enter the world of Mozart’s music in an approachable and relatable way. I’m just hoping that Yoto will soon record more Magic Treehouse cards and include this one!
I hope you enjoyed this long post about some of my favorite books that are all inspired for the love of music! Appreciation of music and art and excellence should start from the beginning. Help me spread the word that the love of music begins in early childhood and that nothing is as formative as those years of birth - age 6/7. Bring your children to the museums, blast opera and imitate the singing, show them that you are excited listening to that opening clarinet solo in Rhapsody in Blue and guess what - they will be excited too! Happy memory making!
Stay tuned for my Holiday Musical Books Roundup later this month. Some of these books coming up are so special and I am already so excited to start reading and singing them to my children very soon! Bring on the snow, the twinkling lights and the nostalgic tunes. Thank you for being here!