In this award-winning audio series, narrator Yadu and the London Philharmonic Orchestra introduce great music and classic stories to stir young imaginations, develop listening skills, and inspire a love of music. The stories display humor and dramatic bravura (even musical parody), interweaving narration with expressive sounds, sensitive silences, and marvelous scores that incorporate many musical styles. CD includes bonus tracks on what to listen for in the music, composer bios, & more, plus colorful 24-pp. activity booklet.
Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel
Story and pictures by Virginia Lee Burton. Will Mike and steam shovel MaryAnn be able to dig the town hall basement in one day!
What child hasn't thrilled to the tension of these man and machine working their hearts out to meet the deadline and the little boy who saves the day! Uilleann bagpipes really catches the ear as Mike's theme. Then the quodlibet and musical quotations of familiar tunes remind us of other stories.
After the story, we hear about the author and how she wrote her stories and we hear the composer tell us how he was thinking when he wrote the composition. Then we hear the story again. In the CD guide are a few activities, a steam shovel with parts defined, the tune and lyrics for Mike's song, and information on author, composer, and other people involved. CD & Guide
