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Starlight Symphony
Eee-oh-lay! Chirp-a-chirp! Rat-a-tat!
Nature is full of music. Listen in as a wood thrush, a cricket, a woodpecker, and many other animals perform a symphony under the stars. Rhyming verse and eye-catching photos will draw in animal lovers and music lovers alike!
This is a great fit for educators looking for STEAM content, bringing together animal behavior, figurative language as animals are compared to musicians, and lots of onomatopoeia. Back matter includes more about each of the featured animals and each of the featured instruments.
"Perfectly pitched for its audience." Kirkus Reviews, starred review.
Nature is full of music. Listen in as a wood thrush, a cricket, a woodpecker, and many other animals perform a symphony under the stars. Rhyming verse and eye-catching photos will draw in animal lovers and music lovers alike!
This is a great fit for educators looking for STEAM content, bringing together animal behavior, figurative language as animals are compared to musicians, and lots of onomatopoeia. Back matter includes more about each of the featured animals and each of the featured instruments.
"Perfectly pitched for its audience." Kirkus Reviews, starred review.
- GenresPicture Books
32 pages, Library Binding
Published September 10, 2024
About the author
Buffy Silverman
160 books20 followersAuthor of nonfiction and poetry for young readers. Nature lover with a camera on hand.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 11, 2024
Had me at the cover! Lovely rhyming text shares the musical contributions from nature’s creatures. Gorgeous photos immerse readers as they’re carried along by the symphony. Back matter has information about not only the animals, but also the musical instruments creating a great connection between the two subject areas.
September 29, 2024
This is a delightfully clever and well-executed approach that reveals parallels between a chorus of nighttime critters and the instruments in an orchestra. Stunning and appealing photography is used to allow even the youngest audiences to recognize animals (both familiar and surprising!) and mimic the onomatopoetic sounds integrated into the fluid and masterful rhymed text. Nature sounds and the creatures who produce them are figuratively compared to instrumentalists and their music tools.
Back matter provides brief and appealing descriptions and details about the featured animals, then another double spread about the instruments named, including suggestions for readers to try to make similar instruments. Science elements reference ways vibrations are creating sound, making this a superb STEAM choice.
The illustrations are darkly lush, making the contrasting text easy to read and part of a fluid page design that adds to the musicality of the full effect. The nightfall is introduced with a metaphorical curtain rising and night thrush, with the symphony's close at dawn as the curtain drops on a robin's morning rise-and-shine song. Highly recommended.
Back matter provides brief and appealing descriptions and details about the featured animals, then another double spread about the instruments named, including suggestions for readers to try to make similar instruments. Science elements reference ways vibrations are creating sound, making this a superb STEAM choice.
The illustrations are darkly lush, making the contrasting text easy to read and part of a fluid page design that adds to the musicality of the full effect. The nightfall is introduced with a metaphorical curtain rising and night thrush, with the symphony's close at dawn as the curtain drops on a robin's morning rise-and-shine song. Highly recommended.
August 4, 2024
Stellar, life-like photographs of night creatures combines with syncopated sounds in a fun read-aloud non-fiction picture book. Starlight Symphony is easy to read, has a nice "read-aloud" cadence, and features a clever melding of learning about both animals, their nighttime habits, and instruments that make up a symphony. Interesting for a first read-through and some interesting back matter, but probably not one my children would want to pour over or revisit too often.
Read as a potential nomination in the Non-fiction Picture Book book award category for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).
Read as a potential nomination in the Non-fiction Picture Book book award category for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).
June 7, 2024
From the airy melody of a wood thrush flutist to the low and slow notes of the bullfrog tuba players, this book truly sings! Silverman is a masterful poet, and her deep appreciation of the natural world leaps from every page. The close-up photographs and clever design are equally delightful, with onomatopoeia set as word art—adding to the playfulness of this symphony.
The thorough and intriguing back matter dives deeper into both the animals featured and their instrument counterparts. Another fantastic book from Silverman and Millbrook Press!
The thorough and intriguing back matter dives deeper into both the animals featured and their instrument counterparts. Another fantastic book from Silverman and Millbrook Press!
June 12, 2024
This is a fantastic rhyming readaloud about all the sounds and songs animals make at night. Featuring an array of great sound words, which are fun for kids to repeat, the text also slyly compares the animal sounds to different instruments. So not only do kids learn about different nocturnal animals, they also learn about various musical instruments. It's very clever and the backmatter provides even more information about each animal and each instrument.
With beautiful, lyrical text and gorgeous full-color photographs, this is the perfect addition to any home or school library!
With beautiful, lyrical text and gorgeous full-color photographs, this is the perfect addition to any home or school library!
June 3, 2024
This beautiful book makes a lovely read-aloud with its lyrical lines and rhyme. I love the full-color photos of up-close animals. Reading about all the creatures that contribute their songs to the night is illuminating. There's more info in the back about each animal and also about how their sounds relate to musical instruments. So much to learn from this book. It would make a great addition at home or in classrooms because of its wide appeal.
June 10, 2024
This melodic, rhyming read-aloud introduces young readers to the sounds of crepuscular and nocturnal creatures including bullfrogs, toads, coyotes, and many species of birds. Luscious turns of phrase and onomatopoeia create a nighttime atmosphere as soothing as it is educational. Gorgeous photos accompany this stunning text and thorough backmatter covers both animal communication and musical instruments. Great for classroom and library use, as well as bedtime.
June 24, 2024
Music and poetry meet science and nature! This delightful rhyming text encourages children to listen for the sounds animals make at night in a lakeside setting. Each animal sound is compared with a musical instrument. The text is accompanied by beautiful photographs – I especially love the shot of the screech owl on the cover. Back matter has further details about each creature, and about the musical instruments. Highly recommended for young readers.
June 2, 2024
Tune in to the different sounds animals make, from dawn til nightfall, in this wonderful book with brief and effortless rhyming text accompanied by lush photographs. The back matter provides helpful and interesting additional details about how and why the featured animals make these sounds, and also introduces kids to a variety of musical instruments.
June 4, 2024
Poetry and science combine in the gorgeous book about the sounds made by lakeside animals. Fittingly, this celebration of sound begs to be read aloud! Fantastic photographs bring nature's symphony to vivid life. Young readers will love to hear and repeat the musical language of this book. This is a must have for classroom and home!
June 13, 2024
Lyrical poetry is paired with gorgeous photographs in this book that highlights nature's musicians-from the singing woodthrush to the drumming woodpecker. Back matter provides additional information about each musician, including how and why they make their sounds. A fabulous blend of poetry, nature, and science!
June 14, 2024
A wonderful book to explore nature and all its fabulous sounds. This is a really fun read-aloud and lots of great education to boot. Having photographs rather than illustrations is a nice change--and they are beautiful photos! The backmatter is great, with more info about both the animals AND the musical instruments they sound like. Love it!
September 15, 2024
This lyrical nonfiction picture book is a beautiful blend of nature, music and writing. Buffy walks us through a day in nature near a body of water. She points out many of the beautiful sounds of nature and then compares each to a musical instrument in the text. She also offers excellent back matter that explores those analogies in more detail.
August 23, 2024
Nature makes sweet music in this excellent read-aloud! Gorgeous lyrical text (peppered with fun onomatopoeia), fantastic nature photography, and interesting back matter (about both nature's "musicians" and musical instruments) - this book is a sure winner that kids will love!
September 24, 2024
Beautiful lyrical text combines with fantastic nature photographs in this gorgeous book about the sounds of nature. Cleverly tied to a musical symphony, this book begs to be read aloud. Backmatter provides more information about each animal and instrument highlighted.
July 8, 2024
I can't wait to sit outside tonight and listen to the music of nature that has been poetically celebrated in this book! Kids will love the comparison of wildlife and instruments.
August 25, 2024
From the cover to the images and beautiful rhyming text, this book is absolutely stunning! Buffy takes readers on a journey through a world of nocturnal sounds, seamlessly connecting animals and music. Young readers will delight in the onomatopoeia and catchy rhythm, especially those who wonder who or what is behind those nighttime sounds. Back matter not only includes more information on the animals featured in the book, but the instruments as well! I can see curious kiddos coming back again and again to this book - it’s a perfect read to wind down at the end of a day, or for an elementary nocturnal curriculum. A must have for any school or home library.
I received a digital copy for review - my kiddos loved reading this, I will be purchasing to include in my home library.
I received a digital copy for review - my kiddos loved reading this, I will be purchasing to include in my home library.
September 10, 2024
It's going to be tough for me to express how wonderful this book is. The adorable cover, with whimsical lettering and a photo featuring screech owl's big eyes, drew me in immediately. Perfect rhymes surprise and delight with layers assigning symphonic instruments to a cast of real nighttime animal musicians. And the photographs are so dreamy and crisp! This one is sure to inspire anyone who reads to go exploring outside. Such a beautiful package!
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews