Carnival of the Animals: Classical Music for Kids

by Camille Saint-Saëns, Barrie C. Turner (Commentary), Sue Williams (Illustrator)

The animals are having a carnival, and the guests are arriving. There's the majestic lion, the braying mules, the dancing elephant, and the bouncy kangaroos. Even the fossils join in with a fast and rattly dance. Everyone is invited!

Nearly 150 years ago, the composer Camille Saint-Saëns was asked by his pupils to write a musical joke for them. He wrote the Carnival of the Animals , a piece people enjoyed so much that it has now become one of Saint-Saëns's most famous works.

This accessible commentary, in a picture-book format, helps children follow each section of Saint-Saëns's classic piece while they listen to the CD. Whimsical illustrations, a simple text, and evocative melodies create an ideal introduction for young children to the world of classical music.

Genres: Music, Animals, Picture Books, Childrens, School, Poetry, 1st Grade

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 1981

About the author

Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁl kamij sɛ̃sɑ̃s]) was a French late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony No. 3 (Organ Symphony).

Reviews

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great introduction to the Carnival of the Animals. If you're not familiar with the work (or even if you are), it might make sense to sit down with the book and CD and listen to it once or twice before reading it to your children. It can be a bit tricky to time the reading with the music. Lovely pictures.

[Kristiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great commentary for kids on a classic piece of music.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am the "Music Mom" in my daughter's third grade class. This means that once a month I go into her classroom and present a lesson on a famous composer. This month I selected Saint-Saens, who was a French composer. He wrote the Carnival of the Animals as a joke, and even asked that it not be published until after his death because he was worried it would ruin his reputation. Well, guess which of his works of music has become the favorite!

This book is perfect for reading along with the music. I love that the songs in the Carnival are short and sweet, but still put across the character of the animals portrayed. The illustrations are great, and each page gives you something to think about or listen for as you play the corresponding song.

The one thing that was confusing to me at first was that the book says "Royal March of the Lion" is track 1, but really some other piece by Saint-Saens is the first track on the CD. This means each page in the book is off by one. Once I got the hang of that, I could navigate the CD okay.

Very kid-friendly! My family has enjoyed this CD/book set. We were especially delighted to realize the Finale of the Carnival sounded so familiar to us. Upon listening to it for a minute or two, we recognized it as the music on "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas."

[Christy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We first discovered this book and cd at a special Carnival of the Animals music day at our public library. Collin (3) and Reagan (2)both loved the experience so we decided to purchase the book. We listen to it several times a week and they love to follow along in the book. They remember exactly which piece of classical music makes the lion's "roar", the donkey's "hee-haw", the cukoo's "cukoo", and their favorite - the dinosaur fossils dance! We have so much fun with this book and cd that it is easily my favorite activity. I highly recommend it for your children, your students, or for yourself!

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED this book!! It tells the story of Saint-Saens' music, "The Carnival of the Animals". It came with a C.D., so we have been listening to it for about 2 months. Now that we have finally read the book as we listened to the music, I can see the gears turning in my kids' heads. It is so fun to see them falling in love with classical music, and this type of book is fabulous for that!

I need to find more!

[Roger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminds me of music class in grade school, and learning to recognize various instruments. But it's better because you can go at your own pace, the illustrations are great, there's 2 pages and a description for each track of the CD, and it ends with my favorite track from Disney's Fantasia 2000

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite things to do as a child was listen to books on tape/record and look at the corresponding book. This book and CD join great music with good illustrations. Way better than teletubbies!

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrated pages and descriptions help you lead your child through listening to the Carnival of the Animals. My boys love to sit and listen to the CD while looking at this book. And getting two energetic toddlers to sit still to listen to classical music is quite a miracle! So much fun!

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for younger children to go along with their listening of Carnival of the Animals.

[Msmerelibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for programming as a Children's Librarian. Make hand puppets before for the kids to follow along!