ROAR-CHESTRA!

Animal patterns fill a musical staff, and both conductor and baton are warmed up!

A wild array of bow-tied animals awaits their human conductor, who opens the performance with a spirited allegro beat. The fish, insects, and mammals leap and pounce. Now the beat slows down to an adagio tempo that puts the fauna to sleep. A gracefully swift upbeat by the conductor sends the critters, tummy side down, “gliding, slipping, sliding” in a glissando. But then quickly executed arcs through the air herald a staccato beat that brings back leaping kangaroos and arcing dolphins along with jumping frogs and rabbits. Calm returns in dolce, as birds and koalas find love and pandas eat bamboo. But wait, this is not the end, as with the intensity of fortissimo, the baton flies out of the conductor’s outstretched fingers, and noisy gorillas, lions, and hyenas bellow and roar. Sigh. Peace returns in pianissimo as eyes close and animals snuggle down. A pronunciation guide complete with succinct definitions concludes this orchestral workout. Scratchy cartoon illustrations cleverly and colorfully depict the many musical moods with humor. Fingers will tap, hands will clap, and feet will stomp along with a reading that should have musical accompaniment. Perhaps The Nutcracker? And guessing which animal fits into which instrument case on the cover is an added element of fun. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Musical mayhem to entertain and engage.