Oh, that darn Frederic Pipin! He'll do anything to get out of learning how to play an instrument, much to the chagrin of his loving parents who named him after the great Chopin. One day however, the little fellow falls under the spell of an amazing conductor and owns up to his name by spinning some magic and writing a fabulous song!

Help your little one learn to love and appreciate music with the book-CD combo, The Fabulous Song. Your child will be exposed to the name of many instruments, as the hilarious story of the search for five-year-old Frederic's (very well hidden) musical talent unfolds. Frederic tries his hand at the piano, clarinet, banjo, cello, oboe, violin, saxophone, xylophone, trombone, trumpet, and flute...with very little success. The pictures primarily focus on the characters, instruments, and little strips of sheet music, fleshing them out with watercolor and shading. The humor in the book is evident immediately and is carried throughout the story often times through the author's extensive use of simile. For instance, Frederic is described as not being "a beautiful baby. He looked like a turnip left too long on the windowsill", or when Frederic tried to play the trumpet, "it sounded like a frog trying to spit." After Frederic's sister's concert in the symphony when everyone is praising her, the only thing Frederic had to say to her was that she had a pimple on her nose and everyone was talking about it. These stand out moments in the story are the inspiration for the songs on the accompanying CD.

The combination of reading the book, and then listening to the accompanying songs is a great way to enhance your child's ability to make connections and learn more about music. You can talk about which moments in the book inspired which song, and whether your little one enjoys reading about the story, or hearing it set to music more. Ample exposure to music in a visual sense in available throughout the book, as most instruments mentioned are also depicted in a picture. There are music notes on every page; often times it looks like a line was torn right off of a real piece of sheet music! Although your little one may not be able to read the music yet, it does show them what written music looks like. Readers will even learn a few musical terms, as Peanut the dog barks "Allegro vivace" (fast, lively, and bright) and "Presto" (fast tempo)! You can also inquire which instruments your little one finds most interesting, and which they would like to learn to play as they get older.

I read this book first with my four-year-old niece, Emily. I made the reading a little more interactive by playing a few notes and chords on the piano while we read about Frederic on the piano. Emily even tried a few notes on her own. We also listened to the accompanying CD; when Emily heard the book come to life through music, she said she would like to try learning to play an instrument. She wants to wait until she is five, like Frederic, so she will 'be ready'. I laughed and agreed to start teaching her how to read music and play piano when she's five.

--Audra

Don Gillmor has written several children's books, published in many countries. The original version of The Fabulous Song won the Mr. Christie Book Award and was nominated for a Governor General's Literary Award.