Antología de cuentos con música

Gr 1—3—This whimsically illustrated book includes two CDs. Children can listen to the animated narrations, and strong readers can read along with the original music tracks that accompany each story. The six stories and single poem weave valuable life lessons that children can discover best with the guidance of an adult. Youngsters learn that pride can make them inflexible and isolate them from others. Beating the odds is a recurrent theme throughout. In one story, a little girl from an underprivileged and dysfunctional family seizes the chance to turn a dire situation into a happy one. A fable depicts how the instinct for survival inspires desert animals to paint stripes to distinguish the tiger that threatens their existence. The poem and a couple of other stories urge children to be themselves and dare to break away from the flock mentality that may stifle their self-identity. One boy, initially ecstatic to walk in someone else's shoes for a day, rejoices when he is finally free to wear his own. The concluding story can serve to teach children to be mindful of predators that lurk in familiar places and may even fool adults with their clever disguises. Strongly recommended for all institutions serving children.—Gisela Norat, Agnes Scott College, Decatur, GA