The enchanted symphony / written by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton ; illustrated by Elly MacKay.

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Title:

Author:

Andrews, Julie, author.

Hamilton, Emma Walton, author.

MacKay, Elly, illustrator.

ISBN:

9781419763199

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 27 cm.

Abstract:

When a lively village is beset by a mysterious fog, the town turns dull and silent, until one day a boy's simple melody strikes a chord, reminding everyone of what matters most, even in the darkest of times.

Reading Level:

Ages 4 to 8 Abrams Books for Young Readers.

Subject Term:

Life -- Juvenile fiction.

Music -- Juvenile fiction.

Joy -- Juvenile fiction.

Villages -- Juvenile fiction.

Life -- Fiction.

Music -- Fiction.

Joy -- Fiction.

Genre:

Fairy tales. (OCoLC)fst01726605

Picture books. (OCoLC)fst01726789

Picture books.

Fairy tales.

Added Author:

Hamilton, Emma Walton,

MacKay, Elly,

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Juvenile Picture Book Hardback	120791003073602	J P AND	Searching... Unknown

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On Order

Summary

The Enchanted Symphony is an inspiring picture book about the power of art, nature, and community from New York Times bestselling mother-daughter duo beloved Academy Award-winner Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton.

When a lively village is beset by a mysterious fog, the town turns dull and silent; melancholy neighbors stop visiting each other and even going outside. Until one day, when a boy's simple melody strikes a chord, reminding everyone of what matters most--even in the darkest of times.

Beautifully and colorfully illustrated by Elly MacKay, The Enchanted Symphony is a powerful, hopeful fairy tale celebrating life's simple pleasures that bring us together.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Music drives away a depressive fog in this inventively illustrated fable. After the creative residents of an idyllic village lose touch with "their own simple pleasures," a purple mist covers the town, keeping everyone indoors. Young Piccolino and his orchestra maestro father nevertheless clean the opera house each week, and Piccolino soon discovers that playing music perks up the lobby palms. This leads the brown-skinned father and son to devise a plan to brighten the village's sickly plants--and, by extension, help cure the town's malaise. Though the plot feels a bit hazy at times, Andrews and Hamilton employ a gentle fairy tale lilt to explore art's effect on all kinds of life. McKay's dynamic illustrations, which portray individuals of varying skin tones, make up an engaging narrative of their own, layering lighted cut-outs before photographing to create deep shadows and a glowing effect. An author's note describes the story's inspiration in a Barcelona string quartet's performance during Covid lockdowns for a concert hall filled with plants. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)

Kirkus Review

Actor Andrews and her daughter Walton Hamilton pay tribute to the power of music. The inhabitants of a small village are happy with "simple pleasures" until they commercialize to attract tourists…whereupon a dismal purple mist creeps in and thickens to the point that people stop visiting or even going outside. Then one day little Piccolino, who is helping his father dust the deserted opera house, plinks out a tune on the piano…and notices that the palms in the lobby look fresher. The brown-skinned pair proceed to gather wilting houseplants from all over town, park them in the auditorium seats, and call the orchestra members in for a concert. The plants flourish, the fog lifts, and throngs of villagers are drawn out into the streets by the music to dance and sing. Everyone realizes that "if they remained faithful to all that matters most, nothing could darken their days again." In a closing note the authors state that they were inspired by an actual concert played in Barcelona in 2020 to an "audience" of plants--a piece of performance art more likely to stimulate discussion than this trite, sugary mess. The illustrations are one bright spot: MacKay places her gracefully posed, diverse figures in luminously hued scenes of narrow streets and neatly kept buildings perched on a steep hill and threaded with musical staves. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Sweet art, cloying storyline. (Picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.