A Delicious Taste of Mozzarella: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

by Ana Gerhard, Marie Lafrance (Illustrator), Colm Feore (Other), Marie Lafrance

Overview

Travel through time following a charming little mouse called Minim who loves cheese and music. Join him on his vacation adventure in the country with Sasha and Bobik as they spend time with their favourite uncle, none other than Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. This summer, the brilliant composer has offered them a gift they didn't expect, one that will last forever and bring happiness to children all over the world!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9782925108016
Publisher:	La Montagne secrète
Publication date:	10/01/2021
Series:	Little Stories of Great Composers
Sold by:	De Marque
Format:	eBook
Pages:	35
File size:	36 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

Ana Gerhard studied as a concert pianist at the Mexican National Conservatory. She has taught piano for several years and has hosted numerous radio programs. Marie Lafrance is one of Que´bec's best-known illustrators and was a finalist of the Governor General's Literary Award. Colm Feore is one of Canada's premiere stage actors who has also frequently acted on television and in film. He is especially well-known for his supporting roles in notable Hollywood films The Sum of All Fears, The Chronicle of Riddick, and Pearl Harbor. I Musici de Montre´al, a chamber orchestra founded in 1983, has released more than 40 recordings and performed in the past at New York City's Lincoln Centre, Tokyo's Kioi Hall, and Geneva's Victoria Hall.

Editorial Reviews

2021-01-28
A mouse listens as a composer brings his family a musical gift in this entry in the Little Stories of Great Composers series.

Minim, a music-loving mouse, secretly lives with Sasha and Bobik, niece and nephew, respectively, of the celebrated Russian composer Pyotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky. Uncle Petya’s arrival means fun and presents, but the children are disappointed when Uncle Petya unveils a musical score rather than a toy. Then he sits down at the piano, and both children and Minim close their eyes to imagine Uncle Petya’s travels. As the children’s piano skills improve they come to appreciate the way their uncle’s gift has given them “much more pleasure than some ordinary toy.” Educational and with an explicit moral, this slight piece lacks conflict save for a short, thrilling moment when Minim is chased by the children’s mother. Rich textures and brocadelike patterns evoke a sumptuous house and grand clothes. All human characters present White. Colm Feore’s crisp narration adds warmth to the audio version, which includes a few snippets of Tchaikovsky’s music and is available on an accompanying CD and as a downloadable MP3 file. Backmatter consists of information about Tchaikovsky and his Album for the Young, which was dedicated to his nephew; it fails to mention that a few years later Tchaikovsky would write love letters to Bobik. It is also unclear if Sasha is a fictional character or perhaps a mashup of the composer’s sister and niece.

Moralistic and factually muddled; readers might prefer to simply listen to Album for the Young.(Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews