The Carnival of the Animals (Book & CD)

Prelutsky's writing is witty, but better for adults.My students (ages 6 and 7) get restless with their length and vocabulary, waiting for the music to begin.I wish for a CD combining this music with the little poems of Ogden Nash.The musical performance is great and the art - cartoon style- is very good

Product arrived in reasonably good condition (slight crease in back of dust jacket). I decided to read through the book before giving it to my children.The artwork was not as charming as I'd hoped, based on the cover art. More disappointing, though, was the poetry. My husband and I were both bothered by the negative tone of most of the poems, and a couple of them have misinformation (kangaroos DON'T jump all the time, but swans DO have songs). The poem about the Birds was sweet, but there were only a few others that weren't unflattering to their subjects. The poem about the Lion would likely give little children nightmares.It's frustrating; I was really hoping this would be a fun and engaging way to introduce the music to my children, but I guess I'll have to continue looking. I have no comment on the music or narration, as I did not use the CD included before deciding the product should be returned.

A beautifully illustrated book with cd! We have learned to appreciate both classical music, and instruments!!!

We bought this book/CD set for our grandchildren (boy 5 & girl 6) and although they do not hear classical music often at home it was a joy to listen to the 6 year old read the book (with help), listen to the music related to each animal and admire the beautifuly illustrated pictures of each while discussing it with them. What pleased me also was overhearing them afterwards, while playing & apparently still listening to track 16 (22 minutes of the original strickly music composition at the end of the CD), I could hear them call out 'that's the tortoise' or that's 'the fossils', even 'that's the Personages with long ears'. There is also a note to parents & teachers at the back of the book. I like to think our grandchildren will remember someday, enjoying that time with Grandma as I so often enjoy the memories of my older sister playing quality recordings for my brothers & me.

I am a music teacher, and I bought this to do with my kindergartners. They all love it so much, especially the pictures! It comes with the CD, so you do have to upload the songs either onto your computer or iTunes, but that is not hard to do at all. I would highly recommend this for any elementary music teacher or a parent who just wants to have some fun with their kids!

As a music teacher, I'm always looking for new ways to present classical music to my students. The verses that go with each piece of music in Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals add so much to the listening of the music. I not only bought this to use at school with my first graders, but bought two copies for my two granddaughters. We read and listened our way through the zoo until the CD began to skip and then refused to work! This is a wonderful resource, but check to see that the CD is in good working order when it arrives. Somehow one of them slipped through quality control! Jack Prelutsky is a favorite children's writer and has done a great job of describing the various animals in a humorous way, while at the same time giving the student something to listen for in the music.

Great book for music lovers and children alike. There are many fun and classic songs included and the illustrations on each page enhance the fun for children. It is poetry so my kids needed help understanding but they enjoyed it.

I read these poems after listening to each part of "Carnival of the Animals" with my music class. The kids love listening to the poems and looking at the pictures.

I bought this to listen to with my granddaughter. It's a wonderful introduction to this lovely music.

Poor poems. Poor quality literature. Shame, we could do with a modern version of the poems. -Back to Ogden Nash for me. I haven't listened to the recording - But that wasn't why I bought it. Nice pictures.

I was disappointed with the book of poems and pictures. The seller did not make it clear that they were aimed at very young children and therefore unsuitable for my 9 year old grand daughters. I know the music and assume it was not altered for this production, although I did not listen to it before giving it to them.

My graddaughter especially loves the aquarium and the swan.I find that although the poems are lovely, I wish they were read with more enthusiasm - pitched at the younger listener.

Doing a project around the music of Saont Saens with my 5-7 year olds. The musid is good but I think I would have been happier with Ogden Nash's poems. The reader of these poems has a dreadful drawl.