FeedFrederico, The Mouse Violinist (Book Giveaway)
February 17, 2011 in Calvani Mayra, Elementary Educators, Making Predictions, Picture Book, Prediction Skills, Preschool to 1st grade teachers Tags: Book Giveaway Contest, fantasy picture books, Picture books about music
I am very excited to let people know about this book! It is perfect for music teachers and kids who love music. The best part is the author, Mayra Calvani, is giving away one copy of this book to a lucky commenter. So, for a chance to win this book, leave a comment below by Sunday, Feb. 20 at 8pm CST. Please only United States and Canada addresses. Now, on to the book. . .
*Picture book for preschool through second grade, fantasy
*A mouse as the main character
*Rating: What a clever idea for a picture book, and the illustrations by K.C. Snider are so cute, too!
Short, short summary: Frederico the mouse lives in the workshop of the famous violin player, Antonio Stradivari. He likes to watch Stradivari create his famous Stradivarius violins. He practiced playing the big violins at night when he was alone. One night, Stradivari hears him, but the mouse doesn’t know. After that, the luthier works on a very small and special project, which the mouse is dying to figure out what it is.
So what do I do with this book?
1. Use the material in the back of the book for extension activities. There’s a bio about Stradivari, a search-a-word puzzle, violin vocabulary, and a matching game.
2. Let students predict what they think Stradivari is working on. Ask them to support their predictions with clues from the text.
3. Study instruments in the string family. Ask students to create posters and make a list of distinguishing characteristics. Listen to the string family if possible!
Don’t forget to leave a comment below for the contest!
February 17th, 2011 at 12:31 pm
I have a soft spot for little mice who play the violin. I played the violin for years; this post reminds me that I need to get new strings and tune up mine again! Thanks for sharing this lovely book, Margo! Best wishes to the Mayra!
February 17th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
I have a soft spot for little mice who play the violin. I played the violin for years; this post reminds me that I need to get new strings and tune up mine again! Thanks for sharing this lovely book, Margo! Best wishes to Mayra!
February 17th, 2011 at 12:47 pm
Looks like an absolutely charming book. And perfect for my daughter that once played the violin and now has 3 young children and another on the way. We’ll all enjoy this great read! Thanks Margo.
February 17th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
What a gorgeous little book! I have a tremendous love for music. I started playing piano when I was two, I sang in choirs and also learned to play violin and cello!
Most importantly, music has always given me a way to connect with two people in my life who weren’t easy to connect with: my mom and my daughter. Today, we use music for Jaimie’s Sensory Diet, we use it to bring us up and calm us back down. This is definitely a book she’d love.
Thank you, Margo!
Chynna
http://www.lilywolfwords.ca
http://www.the-gift-blog.com
http://www.seethewhiteelephants.com
February 17th, 2011 at 1:25 pm
Hi Margo,
This sounds like a wonderful book. Mayra is such a talented writer! I hope to receive a free copy. I will donate it to my local library after reading it on my several school visits in the next few months.
February 17th, 2011 at 1:30 pm
What a cute book! My daughter played the violin and is thinking of introducing my granddaughter to it soon. This book would be a great segue.
February 17th, 2011 at 2:52 pm
My son would LOVE this book and I feel a child can never have too many books. Can’t wait to read it to him!
Thanks for sharing this amazing story with us.
February 17th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
Hi, Margo,
Just seeing the illustrations for this book makes me want to read it.
Besides that, when I was in sixth grade one of our writing assignments
was to finish an open-ended story about a violin player. I remember
weaving into the plot a connection to Stradivari.
Fond memories!
February 18th, 2011 at 7:11 am
Reminds me of the old book, Sylvester, the Mouse with the Musical Ear (?) – that I bought as a child from the Scholastic book club!
Cute!
February 18th, 2011 at 7:47 am
Thank you so much for featuring my book and for your kind words, Margo! I just promoted it in a bunch of sites/groups.
Thanks to averyone for commenting!
February 18th, 2011 at 7:52 am
What a cute book. Thanks for sharing!
February 18th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Don’t count me in the giveaway, as I already have the book, but I wanted to tell your readers how delightful it is. I’ve read almost every book Mayra has written. She’s very talented. Her children’s books are often Amazon bestsellers. Anyone who wins this book will be lucky to have it.
Cheryl
February 18th, 2011 at 8:31 am
What an interesting picture book. It would be a joy for anyone to have a copy of this. Thanks for sharing with us, Margo and letting us see what’s out there in the
market place.
June Sengpiehl
February 18th, 2011 at 2:29 pm
My son is looking over my shoulder saying, Yeah, mom. I like that one. So here’s hoping!
February 18th, 2011 at 4:29 pm
I haven’t any small children to read a book like this to, but I have to say it looks incredibly charming! Seems to have shades of the Cobbler’s Tale to it.
I really wish you the best with this title, Mayra. A great story like this should be available for all children. What a great way to teach them about music without them knowing!
February 18th, 2011 at 5:02 pm
This sounds like a cute tale! My daughter plays the violin and a few years ago was in a play at school where she played a violin-playing mouse! (I think she was just covering the orchestra and a part in the play! I don’t think it was scripted like that.) This would be a great gift for her!
February 18th, 2011 at 6:14 pm
This is an absolutely darling way to get children interested in music and playing instruments. I can’t wait to see all of the illustrations…the cover is so cute. I’d love to win this book for my “great” nephew…that is, my nephew’s son. He & his wife are both teachers, and music lovers. This book would be perfect for their son, Jack!
February 18th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
This book would be perfect for my Kindergarten class. We just finished a week on the letter V. A local violinist came and played for the children. Our district axed the music program last year so we try to squeeze in music wherever we can.
The bonus of this book is . . . KC Snider lives nearby. I wonder if she would be willing to talk with the kids about illustrating?
Thanks for the book giveaway. Best wishes on your book.
February 19th, 2011 at 11:33 am
This book would be perfect to read to my son. Both my mother and I are learning to play the violin and this would be a great way to teach my son about it.
February 19th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
My children are big fans of mouse-centric books. Can’t wait to read this one! Thanks for sharing, Margo!
February 19th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
I would love to share this book with the students at my library. I also just wanted to say that I love your blog! I love reading all the activity ideas for the featured books.
Thanks.
February 21st, 2011 at 9:20 am
Thanks so much, Amanda!
February 21st, 2011 at 9:25 am
Mary, how great that you guys are working music in when such a terrible thing like music was cut because of the budget! UGH! Good luck to you.
February 21st, 2011 at 9:46 am
And the winner is Jodi Webb! Congrats, Jodi!!!