Listen to the Music

Ages 4 to 7, Grades P to 2

Listen to the Music is a narrative non fiction trip through the history of music, complete with 12, 10 second sound clips of the world's best loved, era defining pieces from baroque to bebop. 

Press the buttons to hear the music in this time-traveling journey around the world, as young readers embark on a magical adventure through the history of music!

Stopping off at 12 key chronologically organized moments in history, in different places around the world, readers meet a great musician in each, and can press their instruments to hear a clip of their musical masterpieces!

From 1600s England, where you can hear the harpsichord play Greensleeves, to 18th Century Munich, where you can hear Mozart’s piano sonata, to a classical Indian raga in 1700s Udaipur, to New York in the 1940s, where readers can press Charlie Parker’s saxophone to hear bebop Jazz, this book will teach children about cultural history, famous musicians and musical genres all while wanting to press the buttons and hear the music again and again.

Each musician tells you about where they live, how their music was inspired, and what it means to them, teaching children about the origins of these most magical melodies.

A great playtime or bedtime read, complete with a soundtrack that tracks key moments in musical history, children will love to listen to the most beautiful and important, genre defining bars of music time and time again.

About the Author

Caroline Bonne-Müller is a Dutch artist living in Switzerland. She studied fashion in Amsterdam where she worked for 14 years as a fashion designer for kids collections. Her debut book for children is Portrait of an Artist: Claude Monet. Mary Richards is a writer, publisher and musician. Mary was Publisher at the Hayward Gallery in London's Southbank Centre and Editor at Tate Publishing, commissioning and editing books for all the Tate galleries. She lives in London with four children, two cats and a large collection of Lego.