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Allegro: A Musical Journey Through 11 Musical Masterpieces
Classical music comes to life like never before in this magical journey through 11 timeless compositions. Meet Allegro, an ordinary boy who can't stand practicing the piano. Those black dots on the page drive him crazy―until the music itself whisks him away on a breathtaking journey. Each beautifully illustrated scene on Allegro's journey is accompanied by a famous classical theme that can be played with the press of a button. Hear Grieg's "Morning Mood" while meandering through a misty meadow, Dvorak's "New World Symphony" while exploring uncharted lands, Debussy's "Claire de Lune" while pondering a shimmering night sky, and 7 more! Beautiful gold foil, lavish illustrations, and high-quality sound make this a musical masterpiece to treasure forever.
32 pages, Hardcover
Published October 1, 2018
About the author
David W. Miles
47 books35 followersDavid grew up in rural Pennsylvania. He attended Brigham Young University where he pursued a degree in Business Management. He worked several years as a graphic designer and published his first children's book at age 19. He lives in California with his wife and son.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 29, 2022
4 ⭐
So far, I’ve found that the most fulfilling thing about having a beautiful baby girl is… the ample opportunity for indoctrination. The chance to expose her to a wide variety of music is one of my favourite pastimes, but what I enjoy most is expounding my beliefs without any chance of disagreement or insubordination; she can’t speak, it’s wonderful!
As part of my indoctrination program, I snatched up a copy of Allegro – A Magical Journey Through 11 Musical Masterpieces and not only did I obviously love it, but so did the little one!
Allegro is struggling with his piano practice and has just about had enough when suddenly, as he throws a scrunched-up piece of sheet music onto the floor, the dots begin to grow lines and become something much more than just dots, they become musical notes that whisk him away to wonderful, whimsical places, ultimately inspiring him to, once again, take up his practice at the keyboard with renewed vigour and, seemingly, ending up as a successful concert pianist.
Each page expresses a different emotion or state of being and is accompanied by a snippet of a famous classical composition that matches that moment and can be played with the press of a button:
Adagio in G minor – Albinoni and Giazotto
Ode to Joy (Symphony no.9) – Beethoven
Claire De Lune (Suite Bergamasque) – Claude Debussy
The beginning of the book has a paragraph-long fact bit on each composer, while the back of the book has a similar-length description of each of the compositions.
Usually, my girl sees it as her mission to rip the pages out of books or chew on the corners, so, the fact that she didn’t do so, in this case, and actually waited patiently for each song to finish before wanting to turn the page, is a positive sign. Children will be captivated by the combination of vibrant illustrations and excellent music (though the audio does sound a little tinny coming out of the tiny little speakers) and will likely want to join in pushing the buttons… Completely out of sequence of course! Would definitely recommend.
”Music is an incomparably more powerful means and is a subtler language for expressing the thousand different moments of the soul’s moods.” - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
So far, I’ve found that the most fulfilling thing about having a beautiful baby girl is… the ample opportunity for indoctrination. The chance to expose her to a wide variety of music is one of my favourite pastimes, but what I enjoy most is expounding my beliefs without any chance of disagreement or insubordination; she can’t speak, it’s wonderful!
As part of my indoctrination program, I snatched up a copy of Allegro – A Magical Journey Through 11 Musical Masterpieces and not only did I obviously love it, but so did the little one!
Allegro is struggling with his piano practice and has just about had enough when suddenly, as he throws a scrunched-up piece of sheet music onto the floor, the dots begin to grow lines and become something much more than just dots, they become musical notes that whisk him away to wonderful, whimsical places, ultimately inspiring him to, once again, take up his practice at the keyboard with renewed vigour and, seemingly, ending up as a successful concert pianist.
Each page expresses a different emotion or state of being and is accompanied by a snippet of a famous classical composition that matches that moment and can be played with the press of a button:
Adagio in G minor – Albinoni and Giazotto
Ode to Joy (Symphony no.9) – Beethoven
Claire De Lune (Suite Bergamasque) – Claude Debussy
The beginning of the book has a paragraph-long fact bit on each composer, while the back of the book has a similar-length description of each of the compositions.
Usually, my girl sees it as her mission to rip the pages out of books or chew on the corners, so, the fact that she didn’t do so, in this case, and actually waited patiently for each song to finish before wanting to turn the page, is a positive sign. Children will be captivated by the combination of vibrant illustrations and excellent music (though the audio does sound a little tinny coming out of the tiny little speakers) and will likely want to join in pushing the buttons… Completely out of sequence of course! Would definitely recommend.
”Music is an incomparably more powerful means and is a subtler language for expressing the thousand different moments of the soul’s moods.” - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
February 14, 2026
Mom says I get to play an instrument someday! These songs were good.
February 11, 2019
Beautiful illustrations, and a great way to introduce kids to classical music.
July 1, 2021
#64 of 2021
Absolutely loved this on Vooks!
Absolutely loved this on Vooks!
February 25, 2020
A little boy named Allegro is fed up with practicing piano. He throws his sheet music on the floor, and petulantly sits and thinks about music. He goes on a magical journey to discover new music and how beautiful music can truly be. Through all the different moods and styles of classical music, he learns to love and appreciate the emotions and sensations that music can offer to us.
This book includes short recordings of famous classical pieces such as Fur Elise, New World Symphony, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, The Nutcracker, Ode to Joy, and Claire de Lune. At the beginning of the book on the end pages, there are short one-paragraph bios of the composers along with a photo or painting of the composer. At the back of the book, there are one paragraph descriptions of the music pieces featured in the book. These describe what inspired the piece, who it was dedicated to, or how it became famous.
The main story is very simple with only a sentence or two on each page. I love that this is kept short and sweet for young readers, and the emphasis is on the music recordings to tell the real story instead of relying on text.
Of course, the sound quality is not fantastic, but what do you expect from a little speaker in a book? It's the best quality that I could reasonably expect to find in a book of this type, and I am satisfied with it.
The illustrations are gorgeous and bright! I love the soft lines and whimsical designs. In many of the illustrations, musical instruments are used to make up the landscape. A drum becomes a mountain. A line of staff notes becomes a beach. A cello becomes a rolling hillside of grass. The whole design is charming!
I loved the character of Allegro and how enthusiastically he grows to love music. He's such a cute little guy! He throws himself heart and soul into the music, and his facial expressions are so eloquent.
As a professional musician and piano teacher, I came into this book with HIGH expectations. I was not disappointed! I love the selection of classical music, and the beautiful story of musical discovery.
Personal Story Time:
I had just received this book in the mail, when my little 2-year-old niece visited me at work, and sat at my desk in the office, and I thought, "What am I going to do with this 2-year-old in my office? Aha! I have a children's book for her to read while she sits here!"
SHE LOVED IT!!!! She pushed all the buttons, we matched up the pictures in the book to the pictures on the buttons. We listened to the music, and said, "This song is sad. This song is happy. This song has marching soldiers." It was so fun! She kept saying, "Again! Again! Turn the page!"
Needless to say, this book gets 5 stars, both from myself and from my niece!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
This book includes short recordings of famous classical pieces such as Fur Elise, New World Symphony, Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, The Nutcracker, Ode to Joy, and Claire de Lune. At the beginning of the book on the end pages, there are short one-paragraph bios of the composers along with a photo or painting of the composer. At the back of the book, there are one paragraph descriptions of the music pieces featured in the book. These describe what inspired the piece, who it was dedicated to, or how it became famous.
The main story is very simple with only a sentence or two on each page. I love that this is kept short and sweet for young readers, and the emphasis is on the music recordings to tell the real story instead of relying on text.
Of course, the sound quality is not fantastic, but what do you expect from a little speaker in a book? It's the best quality that I could reasonably expect to find in a book of this type, and I am satisfied with it.
The illustrations are gorgeous and bright! I love the soft lines and whimsical designs. In many of the illustrations, musical instruments are used to make up the landscape. A drum becomes a mountain. A line of staff notes becomes a beach. A cello becomes a rolling hillside of grass. The whole design is charming!
I loved the character of Allegro and how enthusiastically he grows to love music. He's such a cute little guy! He throws himself heart and soul into the music, and his facial expressions are so eloquent.
As a professional musician and piano teacher, I came into this book with HIGH expectations. I was not disappointed! I love the selection of classical music, and the beautiful story of musical discovery.
Personal Story Time:
I had just received this book in the mail, when my little 2-year-old niece visited me at work, and sat at my desk in the office, and I thought, "What am I going to do with this 2-year-old in my office? Aha! I have a children's book for her to read while she sits here!"
SHE LOVED IT!!!! She pushed all the buttons, we matched up the pictures in the book to the pictures on the buttons. We listened to the music, and said, "This song is sad. This song is happy. This song has marching soldiers." It was so fun! She kept saying, "Again! Again! Turn the page!"
Needless to say, this book gets 5 stars, both from myself and from my niece!
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
January 24, 2026
An absolute INSTANT favorite for my toddler and for me. The quality of the book itself (the recordings, buttons to press, etc.) are all excellent quality and feel like they'll hold up well. The story is just enough to help guide the young reader through different types of classical music without talking over listening to the music too much, and the illustrations are whimsical and fitting the music. It really inspired introducing the idea of "sad music" and "happy music" and thinking about how different music makes us feel. We listened and read to this one at LEAST once a day while we had it from the library, and have it high up on our 'books to buy' list.
Edited to add: We now have this in our home, and it's an absolute favorite / frequent re-read, without either of us getting tired of it.
Edited to add: We now have this in our home, and it's an absolute favorite / frequent re-read, without either of us getting tired of it.
June 19, 2020
"Dots are funny things, because if they grow lines... and more lines... and march in lines...they become something that just might transport you to magical places. Away Allegro went, carried off on the sounds of enchanting melodies."
Through the combination of story, illustration and recording of 11 timeless classical music, the book does indeed transport the readers to magical places. The book follows Allegro, a boy who hated piano practice but with practice after practice, grew up to be a pianist.
The text is kept short and the story simple, giving way to the music and illustration as the central highlight of the book. The dreamy full-colour illustration complements the music so well, showing how music could convey emotions like sad or triumphant, and elicit sensory imagery like fragrant meadow or warm morning sunlight. The musical instruments and elements are also cleverly incorporated in the illustration. A stave is the breeze of wind, cello is a cloud, and drum is a mountain.
The recordings include excerpts of well-known masterpieces such as For Elise by Beethoven, Serenade No. 13 by Mozart, March of the Toy Soldiers (from the Nutcracker) by Tchaikovsky, and Claire de Lune by Debussy. The book also includes one-paragraph information about each composer and each music piece at the beginning and end of the book.
.
With simple story, gorgeous illustration, great selection of music, and buttons to press (!), the book is excellent early introduction to classical music for little ones (and even for Mom and Dad). It is also a great discussion starter to explore the connection between music and emotions.
Through the combination of story, illustration and recording of 11 timeless classical music, the book does indeed transport the readers to magical places. The book follows Allegro, a boy who hated piano practice but with practice after practice, grew up to be a pianist.
The text is kept short and the story simple, giving way to the music and illustration as the central highlight of the book. The dreamy full-colour illustration complements the music so well, showing how music could convey emotions like sad or triumphant, and elicit sensory imagery like fragrant meadow or warm morning sunlight. The musical instruments and elements are also cleverly incorporated in the illustration. A stave is the breeze of wind, cello is a cloud, and drum is a mountain.
The recordings include excerpts of well-known masterpieces such as For Elise by Beethoven, Serenade No. 13 by Mozart, March of the Toy Soldiers (from the Nutcracker) by Tchaikovsky, and Claire de Lune by Debussy. The book also includes one-paragraph information about each composer and each music piece at the beginning and end of the book.
.
With simple story, gorgeous illustration, great selection of music, and buttons to press (!), the book is excellent early introduction to classical music for little ones (and even for Mom and Dad). It is also a great discussion starter to explore the connection between music and emotions.
March 13, 2023
Delight in words and sounds
Magical and enchanting, Allegro (published by Familius) is one of my new-favorite picture books. This classy, padded-cover book is beautifully illustrated and so engaging! When a young piano student, named Allegro, gets frustrated while practicing his latest music piece, he crumples it into a tiny ball and throws it onto the dark wood floor. He stares, wide-eyed, as that tiny ball against the dark background appears like a dot that multiplies and grows lines, becoming like notes on a musical staff. And soon he’s transported by enchanting melodies into various musical moods—with stunning illustrations to capture each feeling.
A sound panel beside the book pages encourages children to match buttons with corresponding illustrations, allowing children to hear brief examples—from the stirring “March of the Toy Soldiers” (Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker) to the sad feel of Adagio in G Minor (Albinoni) to the triumphant, celebratory “Ode to Joy” (Beethoven)—and Allegro “feels” it all. At last he’s back home, motivated to keep practicing, leading to a delightful ending.
With end papers featuring “Meet the Composer” cameos and brief descriptions, this book is a wonderful introduction for youngsters to the many moods and well-recognized melodies of classical music that has delighted listeners for centuries. Highly recommended reading for preschool and elementary classrooms as well as personal reading between little ones and their favorite big people.
Bravo, Allegro!
#Familius #classical music picture books
Magical and enchanting, Allegro (published by Familius) is one of my new-favorite picture books. This classy, padded-cover book is beautifully illustrated and so engaging! When a young piano student, named Allegro, gets frustrated while practicing his latest music piece, he crumples it into a tiny ball and throws it onto the dark wood floor. He stares, wide-eyed, as that tiny ball against the dark background appears like a dot that multiplies and grows lines, becoming like notes on a musical staff. And soon he’s transported by enchanting melodies into various musical moods—with stunning illustrations to capture each feeling.
A sound panel beside the book pages encourages children to match buttons with corresponding illustrations, allowing children to hear brief examples—from the stirring “March of the Toy Soldiers” (Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker) to the sad feel of Adagio in G Minor (Albinoni) to the triumphant, celebratory “Ode to Joy” (Beethoven)—and Allegro “feels” it all. At last he’s back home, motivated to keep practicing, leading to a delightful ending.
With end papers featuring “Meet the Composer” cameos and brief descriptions, this book is a wonderful introduction for youngsters to the many moods and well-recognized melodies of classical music that has delighted listeners for centuries. Highly recommended reading for preschool and elementary classrooms as well as personal reading between little ones and their favorite big people.
Bravo, Allegro!
#Familius #classical music picture books
February 10, 2025
Allegro is a favorite in our studio! The book follows the story of young Allegro, a piano student who grows frustrated practicing one day and is carried off into far away musical lands. Vibrant illustrations by Anita Barghigiani transport the reader right along with Allegro as he discovers new lands ("New World Symphony" by Dvorak), experiences deep sorrow ("Adagio in G Minor" by Albinoni), triumphantly enters a city ("Great Gate of Kiev" by Mussorgsky), and many more! Each page spread is represented by a button on the side that plays the correlating musical excerpt, each of which is long enough to give readers a decent introduction to the piece. My students and I loved reading this as part of our Piano Expeditions piano camp, To Italy with Vivaldi and His Four Seasons. I created little tokens with each button image and distributed them to the students so they could take turns pushing the corresponding button. The story concludes with Allegro back at his piano determined to keep practicing, and practicing, and practicing, until finally he arrives on stage to perform Grieg's magnificent Concerto in A minor. A delightful and inspiring book for all ages!
June 27, 2020
It is amazing to me how my niece and nephew wore out this book before turning two. Granted, it makes sounds, so of course it will appeal to kids, but this goes beyond that. The twins patiently wait as I read the page, and push the corresponding song (based on the pictures.) They joyfully say "Allegro!" when bringing me the book, and want it again and again. We need to get another copy, because of accidental tearing of pages and some of the songs have seriously worn out, but I'm sure a new copy is a great investment. Even with other books that make sounds (including other musical ones) the twins come back again and again to Allegro. Even with it being worn out. They LOVE it. (And I love the message of it.)
February 23, 2022
Allegro is tired of practicing piano, but when he crumples up his music, he notices that it forms a measure, and soon he is traveling through a world of classical music that leaves him inspired.
I was excited to see this book on Vooks where the music can be expertly timed to match what's going on on the page. The narrator was too excited, but the book was really lovely. I could definitely see reading this book during a music class for preschool or kindergarten students.
I was excited to see this book on Vooks where the music can be expertly timed to match what's going on on the page. The narrator was too excited, but the book was really lovely. I could definitely see reading this book during a music class for preschool or kindergarten students.
August 30, 2020
A (4yrs): The notes take him on a journey, it makes him feel like he’s going right on a journey to meet some other music. When he was in the rain he felt sad and cuddled his teddy. But then he felt happy. In the end he practised his piano. He just learned it and learned it until he got better at knowing notes.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2024
This is my daughter’s all time FAVORITE book. She has to read this every single night. Even if this book is tucked underneath a different one, she digs this one out to listen to it. Now that we have listened to it so much she pushes the buttons in the correct order as we read the story. It is adorable and touched my music teacher heart.
February 5, 2026
Very beautiful children book that takes a keen interest in music and the classic. Follows a young boy in journal if he practice and work hard that music will become his gift as he see each classical music in different way.
The illustrations follows the music very well as the reader can click the button and hear the musical piece as well; while reading book. Beautiful book to read and to listen to.
The illustrations follows the music very well as the reader can click the button and hear the musical piece as well; while reading book. Beautiful book to read and to listen to.
August 29, 2020
Wonderful story of a young pianist who falls in love with the music while magically traversing 11 masterpieces.
January 20, 2023
Brilliantly executed introduction to the beauty of classical music
March 16, 2024
This book is a musical masterpiece!
August 7, 2024
The buttons add an element of entertainment to an already entertaining picture book for tots.
November 21, 2024
Another favorite since Quinny was born. The illustrations are beautiful and we love listening to the music.
February 23, 2025
14 month old Leo is obsessed. Mom & Dad like it too.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews