With so many awful things happening in the world right now, I think we all can use a book that focuses on life’s pleasures, the things that really matter. I think today’s Perfect Picture Book does just that.
Title: The Enchanted Symphony
Written By: Julie Andrews & Emma Walton Hamilton
Illustrated By: Elly MacKay
Publisher/Date: Abrams Books for Young Readers/2023
Suitable for Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: music, overcoming adversity, plants, nature, community, arts
Opening:
Piccolino lived in a small village, famous for its charms. Its people were happy and creative – singing and dancing felt as natural to them as breathing. They cherished their families, their friendships, and the abundant green countryside around them.
Brief Synopsis: When a mist envelops a small village and all the plants wither, Piccolino and his father, the maestro of the opera house orchestra, assemble the plants in the shuttered theatre and restore them with music.
Links to Resources:
- Play some lively music. How does it make you feel? Does your mood change if you play softer, quieter music? How do your pets react to the music?
- Attend a live musical performance, if possible. How does seeing the musicians and/or hearing the music in a different venue change the experience for you?
- In addition to music, what lifts your spirits when you’re down. Share your simple pleasure with family or friends by drawing a picture of it, inviting them to join you, or telling them about it;
- Discover the story behind an online image that inspired this picture book in the Authors’ Note.
Why I Like this Book:
The Enchanted Symphony is a hopeful fairy tale that explores the power of art, nature, and community. At the outset, we meet our protagonist, young Piccolino, whose name reminds me of the lilting musical instrument after which Andrews and Walton Hamilton presumably named him. He lives in a happy village where the little things in life matter. But as the townspeople become more interested in commerce and profits, a purple fog rolls in, enveloping the town. Plants wither, birds leave, and the townspeople become glum. When Piccolino plays the piano in the shuttered opera house and notices a plant perk up, he works with his father to fill the opera house with plants, reconvene the orchestra, and fill the hall, and the town, with music and joy.
I love that Andrews and Walton Hamilton chose a young boy to bring about this magical transformation. And I love the takeaway that community, nature, and the arts should be central in our lives, not the material possessions we purchase.
MacKay drew the illustrations, cut them apart, set them up in layered vignettes, and then photographed them with light. This gives them a lustrous appearance and stage-like feel, making them the perfect compliment to text authored by two theatre icons that celebrates the arts.
The Enchanted Symphony is a delightful book to read at home or in classrooms, and it provides a wonderful opportunity to discuss with your littles what is truly important in life.
A Note about Craft:
The idea for this picture book was an online photo of a symphony hall in Spain filled with plants during the pandemic when public venues worldwide were shuttered. Rather than tying this book to the pandemic, however, Andrews & Walton Hamilton imagined a misty fog overcoming a town after the townspeople had lost sight of the simple pleasures that mattered. This, I believe, will prolong its shelf-life. The fog also serves as a metaphor for losing sight of what matters, as a traveler loses the way on foggy roads.
This Perfect Picture Book entry is being added to Susanna Hill’s Perfect Picture Book list. Check out the other great picture books featured there!
Wander, Ponder, Write 