"Peter and the Wolf" by Sergei Prokofiev

SETTING
The story takes place in a meadow near the forest on a warm and sunny, early morning.
GENRE
Fable/Fairytale with Musical Accompaniment
CHARACTERS / SUBJECT MATTER
Peter played by the violins and all the strings of the orchestra
the bird by the flute
the duck by the oboe
the cat by the clarinet
the grandfather by the bassoon
the wolf by the French horn
the hunters by the kettle drums and the big bass drum
FAVORITE PART OR CONCLUSION
This story is special because Prokofiev wrote it to be represented in a children’s theater and every character is played not by an actor but by an instrument. The book I read has the “c.d” so I  read the book and later I listened to the music. I closed my eyes and I saw all the characters acting because I was following the music. Each instrument seemed to talk, run, chirp, and skip, and to feel scared, angry, happy and brave.
My favorite character was the bird because the flute has a nice sound. In the story, the bird is always happy. She likes to play with her friend duck, teasing each other happily.
I really enjoyed when the bird asked the duck,”Which kind of bird are you if you can’t fly?” and the duck said, “Which kind of bird are you if you can’t swim?”.
The bird is also very brave because at the end she is the one who helps Peter catch the wolf.
If you read this book you can find many precise verbs that describe the sounds and the movements of all characters:
Peter tiptoes and skips
the duck blinks, waddles, quacks, splashes, rouses, flaps and trashes
the bird perches, chirps, trills, darts off, swoops, flutters, hops and twitters
the cat sneaks and hisses
the grandfather stomps and scolds
the wolf pounces, trots, snaps, snarls, tugs. pants and pulls
RATING

Music and all these verbs help us to see the characters become alive.
BOOK REVIEW BY
“Liam” age 5 1/2