Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (Caldecott Honor Book) Review

Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Author(s): Lloyd Moss

Binding: Hardcover
Pages: 32
Reading Level: Baby-Preschool

Average Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

When this book begins, the trombone is playing all by itself. But soon a trumpet makes a duet, a french horn a trio, and so on until the entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Written in elegant and rhythmic verse and illustrated with playful and flowing artwork, this unique counting book is the perfect introduction to musical groups. Readers of all ages are sure to shout "Encore!" when they reach the final page of this joyous celebration of classical music.

User Submitted Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (Caldecott Honor Book) Reviews

July 3, 2008
Great addition to your library
This book is beautifully written. The words on the page flow like musical notes. This book is a valuable addition to any home or school library and a great way to introduce children to the types of musical instruments. I love the way the book introduces the instruments one at a time and gives the vocabulary for the number of instruments in the orchestra each time a new instrument is added (solo, duo, trio, quartet, quintet, etc.). At the end of the book, the author shows how all of the instruments join together to create music "that we all adore."

Great picture book to use in the classroom from preschool through 4th grade. For 3rd through 4th graders, you could use this book as an engaging tool to discuss musical terms, context clues, alliteration, adjectives, prefixes.

June 7, 2008
Love This Book!
This is my 4 y.o.'s favorite book. We had read it to her so many times that she has memorized it. She can name every instrument and tells me which ones she likes the best. A plus plus.

March 16, 2008
Fun book
I purchased this for my Kindermusik class, and the only thing that would've made it better would've been a real violin. It is a charming book, and it wasn't too long even for 3 year olds.

February 18, 2008
my pre-schooler loves it!
My just-turned-3 year old likes this book, and so do I. It has deepened his curiousity about and enthusiasm for instruments and the music they make, and it has inspired him to play his miniature guitar both as a 'violin' and a 'cello' (though he knows he needs a bow!).

I like the illustrations very much, and the verse is also fun to read.

I was very happy that he liked the book so well--when the Amazon package arrived, he was hoping for a book about excavators--his other passion! I'm glad to say he was not at all disappointed, once he saw the pictures.

December 15, 2007
Great gift
This book is one of my standard gifts to families with small children. It's a great way to introduce them to poetry, music, and art. It's a great vocabulary builder, too--I've read it to my 4th-6th grade choir and had to explain musical terms to them. Fun sounds and interesting pictures to explore!

December 10, 2007
Best book for instruments so far...
My son (2.5 years) loves this book, its not a favourite, but it is a staple, and I like how informative it is. Would have given a 5 but the illustrations don't really appeal to me - though the colours are bright and the text engaging.

September 7, 2007
simple introduction to music
Counts and identifies ten musical instruments in a fun way with great drawings and catchy narration. Suitable for a two year old.

April 1, 2007
great introduction to musical instruments
fun rhyming, simple counting and an interesting introduction to instruments. hidden cat and mouse chase is an added bonus. my children and my nieces and nephews (ages 3 - 8) love it.

March 19, 2007
A great delight
I must admit, I didn't like this book to begin with.

As other reviewers mentioned, this book is not written to a child's level. I usually like to buy my daughter books that have bigger words sprinkled in the verses, but it seems like this book is crammed with the bigger words. Yes, the descriptions of the sound were accurate - but would a preschooler really understand the descriptions without hearing the instruments? I didn't think that she would be able to understand why the clarinet played "breezy notes so darkly slick," or the oboe was "gleeful, bleating, sobbing, pleading through it's throbbing double-reeding" without being exposed to sound of the instruments. In other words, I didn't think my daughter would be able to understand what the words meant from the context of the book alone.

So why five stars then?

We started reading this book a month ago, and since then my daughter has been asking for it every day - sometimes five times a day.

As other reviewers mentioned, this book is great for reinforcing counting. It is quite refreshing to be able to count musicians as they're added to the orchestra, instead of just counting sheep or dinosaurs. The illustrations are quite beautiful, and in addition my daughter now knows the names of all of the instruments in the book.

I also dusted off our Mozart Magic Cube (used to be called Embryonics Music cube)- a "music block toy" that has sound samples of four of the instruments in this book - the flute, harp, french horn, and violin. Whenever we read this book, my daughter finds the appropriate instrument for the appropriate verse. At the end, my daughter and I "clap loudly and shout 'Encore,'" and we play the entire orchestra on Mozart Magic cube again.

And that, as the book says, "is a great delight." I have fun reading this book to her, even when I read it over and over again.

February 8, 2007
Nice Book
This is a nice introduction to a few different things in symphonic music...the instruments, and they types of groups (quartets, etc). The drawings are nice and appeal to children. I highly recommend it.

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