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Music gifts for kids: 10 Christmas present ideas for music-loving children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
10 pieces of classical music for children<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n
How can I get my child into classical music?<\/b><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
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Bantam of the Opera<\/b><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
This bonkers book by the American writer Mary Jane Auch was one of the first I ever read to my son. We\u2019ve since read it about 500 more times, so it\u2019s a testament to Auch \u2013 a self-confessed poultry fan \u2013 that it still hasn\u2019t gotten boring.<\/p>\n
It tells the story of Luigi, a cockerel gifted with a glorious voice, who finds fame as the star of the Cosmopolitan Opera Company in a production of Verdi<\/a><\/strong>\u2018s Rigoletto<\/i>, after the lead tenor and understudy are laid low with chicken pox.<\/p>\n
Charming, witty and tremendous fun to read, especially if you do the voices, it\u2019s a great way to introduce children to the concept of opera. But be warned: once you\u2019ve finished it, Rigoletto<\/em>\u00a0may forever be synonymous with images of chickens singing \u2018cock a la doo da lay\u2019 and swinging from chandeliers.<\/p>\n
Buy from amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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Strange Mr Satie<\/b><\/h3>\nAs someone guided by his own rules for how music should be, for behaviour in school, for romance and how to dress, the 19th century composer Erik Satie<\/a><\/strong> was at odds even with the French avant-garde community of his day.<\/p>\n
So the author M.T. Anderson and illustrator Petra Mathers are onto an interesting subject with this little book, which introduces young readers to the man who \u2018never grew up but was always a child with an old man\u2019s smile\u2019.<\/p>\n
The writers have made some bold\u00a0choices: we hear about how Satie befriended and fell in love\u00a0with an artist and model who already had\u00a0a\u00a0boyfriend; how he tagged along with them to social events; how, in a fit of jealous rage, he once pushed his lover out of the window.<\/p>\n
But Anderson and Mathers handle it all with an eloquence and fantastical style that will allow small children to get caught up in the story of this one-off composer, who moved in a world of poets, painters, magicians and puppeteers.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n
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Why Beethoven threw the Strew<\/b><\/h3>\n $\"""\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
The British cellist Steven Isserlis<\/a><\/strong> brings the world of classical music to life in this book, which introduces children to six of his favourite composers: Bach<\/a><\/strong>, Mozart<\/a><\/strong>, Beethoven<\/a><\/strong>, Schumann, Brahms<\/a><\/strong> and Stravinsky<\/a><\/strong>. Through a series of entertaining anecdotes, Isserlis does an excellent job of demystifying each composer, turning him into human beings made of flesh and blood. Each chapter includes a glossary of musical terms as well as suggestions on where to start exploring each composer\u2019s output.<\/p>\n