Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin by Lloyd Moss, Marjorie Priceman (Illustrator)

From the Publisher

The Caldecott Honor book, now in paperback!

With mournful moan and silken tone,

itself alone comes ONE TROMBONE...

Then a trumpet joins in to become a duet; add a French horn and voila! you have a trio — and on it goes until an entire orchestra is assembled on stage. Lloyd Moss's iresistible rhymes and Marjorie Pricemans's energetic illustrations make beautiful music together — a masterpiece that is the perfect introduction to musical instruments and musical groups, and a counting book that redefines the genre.

Children's Literature

Lilting, rhyming text arcs across each page of brilliantly hued illustrations. This book is deceptively simple; it covers a quick introduction to musical instruments, serves as a counting book, and also teaches the words for groups of musicians (duo through nonet). The author's ear for music is evident in his crisp rhyme and meter; the poetry is never forced but always fun. The drawings are reminiscent of the New Yorker magazine. A Caldecott Honor book.

Children's Literature

An upbeat, rhythmical introduction to the instruments of the orchestra. Beginning with the trombone alone, each instrument is presented in rhyme. Add one more, it's a duo, a trio next, a quartet, until there is a chamber group of 10. The sounds of the orchestra are poetically described: "The strings all soar/ the reeds implore/ the brasses roar with notes galore/ It's music that we all adore..." Illustrations swing and sway with a jaunty array of musicians and instruments.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5-Layout, design, illustrations, and descriptive verses blend in perfect harmony to give voice to the unique sounds of 10 orchestral instruments. Readers meet the ``Fine FRENCH HORN, its valves all oiled/Bright and brassy, loops all coiled,'' and the ``FLUTE that sends our soul a-shiver;/ FLUTE, that slender, silver sliver.'' One by one as the numbers progress from ONE TROMBONE playing SOLO all the way up to ``A CHAMBER GROUP of TEN,'' the excitement, motion, and sounds increase. Priceman's amusing watercolors present an inspired assortment of characters who pose, prance, and float across the page and stage, their seeming wildness giving form to each instrument's function, as their exaggerated features and elongated limbs give them a sophisticated wit and elegant air. The rich, swirling background colors change with each double-page spread. As the numbers of players grow, the proscenium and curtain become more and more of a presence until viewers find themselves facing the concert group, and then onstage behind the musicians, who are facing the audience, taking a bow. A delight for music classes as well as a great introduction to the concert hall, this title will surely be met with applause.-Jane Marino, Scarsdale Public Library, NY

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