Rebecca Panitch: Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns by Barrie Carson Turner and illustrations by Sue Williams

This book gives descriptions of the musical concepts in the piece “Carnival of the Animals” by Saint-Saëns. Turner begins the book by explaining the definitions of the orchestra and types of instruments within the orchestra for this piece. Then, Turner provides commentary on the actual piece in the order in which each section of the piece occurs. There are colorful illustrations that help describe the animals as well as the mood in the particular part of the piece. This book can be very useful because some young students might not be able to infer what is going on by just listening to a piece, so a textual and visual aid will help them form ideas. For each section in the piece, Turner includes questions asking if the reader can hear specific moments in the piece. This is a great way to have children think about the musical concepts they are listening to.