Welcome to the Opera This children’s book was written by Carolyn Sloan with beautiful illustrations by Kaly Quarles. The book educates its audience about the topic of opera and also the popular “Magic Flute” (of course, by Mozart). “Welcome to the Opera” is a huge hit with my students. Here’s why they loved it so much. Narrators Magic Flute The dogs are in attendance of Mozart’s famous opera “The Magic Flute”. There are separate dialogue boxes that explain the story line as it happens on each page. It names the characters and describes their interactions. Accompanying these dialogue boxes, there are other sections talking about the function of the character within the opera and give them musical context. For instance, “Papageno is a baritone. . . Papageno’s bells are played by a glockenspiel. . .”. The Sounds With the dialogue boxes comes a small number which corresponds to one of the music buttons found on the side sound panel. From the overture to Papageno’s bells and the Queen of the Night’s iconic aria, the author immerses readers in the opera via sound. This next dimension of the book adds so much life and interest, it levels up the beautiful illustrations and descriptions that follow. However, make sure you push the number and not the picture. (By the way, the sound panel requires three 1.5 volt button batteries.) A Music Educator’s Goldmine Conclusion My students had one week to experience this book and the feedback I recieved was mostly positive. They loved interacting with the sounds, the dogs, and even the performing characters. One thing my younger students (kindergarten & grade 1) struggled with is the pushing of the numbers and not the picture. The target area is quite small and I believe the reason to be the reduction of wear on the faces of the characters. Other than that, the speaker is quite loud, and there are 12 different sounds to hear. Click here to hear some of the sounds! I will continue to have “Welcome to the Opera” in my mini-music library and I look forward to adding the rest of the series to my collection!
