Carnival of the Animals: Poems Inspired by Saint-Saens' Music by Satoshi Kitamura (Illustrator), Judith Chernaik (Editor)

From the Publisher

A 55-minute CD of music and poetry included inside!

Ladies and gentlemen, take your seats for CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS! Tap your feet, clap your hands, let the words flow and the music swell, and allow these poems and pictures to transport you. Inspired by Saint-Saëns’ famous "zoological fantasy," this magnificent book combines specially commissioned work by thirteen acclaimed modern poets with bold and glorious illustrations by Satoshi Kitamura.

The accompanying fifty-five-minute CD, performed by the Apollo Chamber Orchestra, features a reading of each of the fourteen poems followed by the appropriate musical passage, beautifully evoking for young listeners each of the animals in Saint-Saëns’ famous 1886 fantasy for two pianos and orchestra. Exciting poems by an international array of poets and riotous images by the award-winning Satoshi Kitamura illustrate CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS by Camille Saint-Saëns.

Publishers Weekly

Chernaik invited a dozen poets (she pens one poem herself, and Gerard Benson authors two) to respond to composer Saint-Sa ns' 1886 "zoological fantasy" (a 55-minute CD, performed by the Apollo Chamber Orchestra, includes a reading of the 14 poems followed by the corresponding musical passages). Kitamura's (Pablo the Artist, reviewed above) bold ink-and-watercolor full-bleed spreads incorporate a panoply of styles that ably reflect the content of the poems and the mood of the music. James Berry's opening poem, "Lion," for instance, emulates the foreboding themes in the music ("Hunger switches you on, big cat./ Tiptoe breaks into trot"), as the massive beast faces readers and appears poised to jump from the pages. In Chernaik's "Tortoise," 13 turtles dance on separate oval platforms (the text likewise appears in an oval) and the opening line, "Under the mottled shell of the old tortoise/ beats the heart of a young dancer" underscores the music's throbbing pulse; for Gerard Benson's "Personages of Long Ears," illustrated in hues of muted brown, donkeys fill the last row of a crowded theater-could they be critics? (They have "the air of One Who Knows" and "scribble notes in scruffy pads.") Their "bray" echoes the wild thrumming of the violins. Widely varied in structure and style, the highly accessible poems convey an air of enthusiasm, expectation and movement, while the artwork, even in its diversity, threads the spreads together. X.J. Kennedy's "Aquarium," depicted as a stain-glass waterworld with a child's figure in the corner, closes with an engaging rhyme, "From behind glass, a couple of curious squid/ Stare out at me: What's that odd thing-a kid?" This same child reappears in the final spread, conducting an animal orchestra, and bringing this playfully exhilarating collection of poetry, art and music to a close. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Sheilah Egan - Children's Literature

Thirteen poets (including X. J. Kennedy, James Berry, Kit Wright, Cicely Herbert, Judith Chernaik, Adrian Mitchell, Gavin Ewart, Gerard Benson, Gillian Clarke, Valerie Bloom, Wendy Cope, Edwin Morgan, and Charles Causley) were asked to write poems to go with the selections from Saint- Saens' wonderful music. While Saint-Saens did not think that these pieces were worthy of public performance and did not allow them to be performed in his lifetime (with the exception of the "Swan" cello piece), the work has since gained popularity and has become a favorite. This book is enhanced with the fabulous art of Satoshi Katamura—he changes styles and approaches to accommodate each different selection most effectively. I am especially fond of the pieces "Elephant Eternity" and "Cocks and Hens." A CD is packaged with the book and it is wonderful to hear the music and poems (with dramatic flair) while looking at the expressive illustrations. The poem "Pianists" very cleverly matches the music for which it was written. Children should be encouraged by parents, art teachers, and language arts teachers to try their own art and poems with Saint-Saens' music for inspiration. I could wish that the CD had a pocket for storage in the book—the plastic sleeve that is used does not stay stuck to my book. 2006, Candlewick, Ages 4 up.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 8-Saint-Sa'ns's playful musical fantasy is well paired with Kitamura's menagerie of art and poems by 13 distinguished poets. Children can easily listen along since the CD offers a reading of each poem, followed by its corresponding musical passage from Carnival of the Animals. The recording concludes with a complete, uninterrupted performance of the piece by the Apollo Chamber Orchestra. The art and poems mesh seamlessly with the music. The first poem, James Berry's "Lion," explains that the lion is a "Wild beast outdoing all/eagles flying, whales swimming." But despite his skill at the hunt, the big cat is confronted with the question: "Do your good looks, your mane of hair,/conceal your loneliness?" A double-paged illustration depicts a large and powerful animal, alone, staring directly at readers with the other animals, at a distance, beneath him. X. J. Kennedy's exacting verse in "Aquarium" matches the dreamy quality of gazing inside this glass house: "Flashes of fishes, quick flicks of tails./Scoot scurry scamper of scattering scales./A sponge blows bubbles, sea horses race,/Anemones wave tentacles of slow pink lace." Kitamura makes use of saturated colors and bold black ink statements in many of the pen-and-ink with watercolor art. For "The Swan," however, subdued pastels with elegant lines mirror Charles Causley's lyrical poem that begins "It is a music of the eye. The swan/Assumes the heavy garment of the stream-." Because the poems present various levels of sophistication, children will grow with many of them.-Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

From James Berry's grand "Lion," "staring with fearless look / Wild beast outdoing all," to Kit Wright's annoyed hens, who dismiss the proud cock as "just a feathered fathead / With a very silly walk!" the 13 new, short poems here echo the general tone of each section in Saint-Saens's ever-popular work-though to call them "inspired" is, with some notable exceptions, pushing it. Each poem is presented in a different typeface, and Kitamura gives each spread a different look, passing, for instance, from thick jangles of piano keys ("Pianists") to a bony orchestra of "Fossils," then on to an elegant "Swan" gliding on a cool blue pond. Though some animals, such as Gillian Clarke's "Cuckoo," who "grows fat on murder, and in a stolen house / sings her two notes in an angel's voice," will linger with readers, in general the writing is so prosaic that most of the menagerie will pass without eliciting much response. A limp effort, particularly next to John Lithgow's exuberant interpretation, illustrated by Boris Kulikov (2004). (CD) (Picture book. 7-9)

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