Audio/Video
PETER AND THE WOLF & TUBBY THE TUBA
Publisher/Manufacturer: Harper Children's Audio
Stories on tape should always enhance, not replace, a parent's own reading efforts, and this is a wonderful tape to start with. First released in 1978, it features Broadway great Carol Channing and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, and has been recently re-released. Of course, Peter and the Wolf dates back to the 1930s, part of a children's concert written by Russian composer Serge Prokofiev. With her trademark butterscotchy, daffy voice, Channing tells the story of Peter, who has a day in the meadow and eventually ends up outwitting a wolf. Each character is represented by a flurry of a certain musical instrument---the cat is a clarinet, for example, the grandfather a bassoon---and Channing is slow and steady, so young children can follow the plot.
Next up is Tubby the Tuba, who dearly wants to play melody in a stuffy orchestra. This story, too, unfolds gradually and features instruments in a basic orchestra, including a piccolo and xylophone, which babies really respond to. Newborns will enjoy the music, and the repetition of the characters' signature tunes will help improve your child's memory. Once baby is a little older, say one year or 18 months, he will revel in the suspenseful story of Peter---Does he know that wolf is following him?---and empathize with Tubby---"Why are the other instruments so mean to the Tuba?"
