Sounds Good! Discover 50 Instruments

LoveReading4Kids Says

In this engaging and entertaining musical encyclopaedia, over 50 musical instruments, including voice and computer, are profiled. There is a great representation of different instruments, not only western, but also ones such as the sitar and conga drums and some very unusual instruments such as the lur.

Each instrument is showcased in a spread that pairs humorous visuals of animals playing the instruments, with an informative light-hearted descriptive blurb featuring history and fun facts and a QR code. When you scan the QR code, a short track appears via Youtube starring that instrument and giving us just enough to get a taste of the instrument’s range, power, and mood.

It’s a wonderful combination of learning and listening.

Acclaimed picturebook creator Ole Könnecke writes and illustrates, and son Hans composed and produced the music with world class musicians (all listed at the end of the book) involved. The interaction between sound and image is very clever. The watercolour illustrations sometimes put the animal and instrument in a "scene" that is reflected in the background of the recordings. For example, the cello page depicts an animal playing the cello under a tree with bees buzzing around. In the recording, you can hear a bee buzzing along with the cello music. This book and accompanying resources on the publisher’s website (geckopress.com/wp- content/uploads/2023/12/Sounds-good-classroom-resource.pdf) will be incredibly useful for teachers and families alike who are eager to find a child-friendly introduction to sound and music history.

Joy Court

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