The Tortoise and the Hare from Maestro Classics

The Tortoise and the Hare is a classic Aesop's fable. A very confident hare challenges a tortoise to a race. Halfway through the race, the hare rests and realizes too late that the tortoise has beaten him to the finish line. The Tortoise displays the virtues of diligence, perseverance, and optimism. Slow and steady wins the race is his motto. We've read this short story many times before, but we had never heard it the way Maestro Classics told it! The humorous twists and additions to the story along with the music makes this version of the Tortoise and the Hare our favorite.  (Scroll down for a chance to get your own copy!)

My 5yr. old daughter picked out Maestro Classics The Tortoise and the Hare for our review. We have a board book of this story so she was familiar with the characters. When our package arrive, she was very excited to listen to the story.

We pulled it out right away to listen. Inside the cd case was a little booklet. This little booklet is packed with lots of information! It had a picture chart of the instruments in the orchestra, a little bit of basic music theory, and some activity pages.

She read this while listening to the story. Now don't think this cd series is just for young children--because it is not! I had all my kids sit and listen  ages 1yr. - 13 yrs. old. Younger children will enjoy listening to the story being told along with the music. Older kids can listen to the story and try to analyze the music too:

What instruments are playing?
Are their certain instruments representing specific characters?
Why would the orchestra play fast at this point in the story?

If you are apprehensive about explaining the instruments and other technical music stuff, no worries because the composer, Stephen Simon, does it for you! I think that was my favorite part--- hearing about his thought-process in writing the music to tell the story.

Tortoise and the Hare Coloring Page

You can find additional resources and ideas to go along with each of the CD stories available on the Maestro Classics Website. You could easily turn it into a unit.

  There are 9 different music stories available. They can be purchased as CD's or downloaded as MP3's. You can go to the site and hear snippets from each musical story. We also have Peter and the Wolf  in our collection and enjoy it too. I think this is a great way to teach listening skills, literature, and music appreciation! And if I'm honest-- I also love it because the cd does the majority of the teaching for me! I get to take off my teaching hat and just sit and enjoy the story along with my children.

Would you like to have your own copy of the Tortoise and the Hare? Enter via Rafflecopter below.

If you are reading this in a reader, you will have to click over to the site to see the widget. There is only one mandatory entry, but lots of additional ways to enter too! (Please read the terms before entering)

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Disclosure: I was provided a CD for review purposes only. Opinions about this product are my own.