Music Books for Kids: The Philharmonic Gets Dressed

Since I'm a mommy now, I thought it might be nice to add a music books for kids series. There are a lot of really great books written for children, but The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin is by far my favorite. Even though my mom is a professional musician, I didn't read this as a child. I found out about it in college from one of my friends (whose mom is also a musician). She got the book when she was three, and after she read it all she wanted was concert black. So, for Christmas that year she got a black velvet concert dress that she wore all the time. Now she's got her doctorate in violin performance.

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The book follows the musicians of a metropolitan orchestra as they get dressed to go to work. While the city around them slows down for the night they take showers, brush their teeth, put on their underwear, wiggle into dresses, tie bow ties and put on jackets. The illustrations are absolutely brilliant, and it's really fun to try to guess which characters play which instruments while you read (the piccolo player is my favorite!) Another friend babysat for her viola teacher in school, and every time her teacher played a concert she read this book to her daughter. In addition to just being an awesome book for all kids, its a really special way for a musician's child to connect with the work that often consumes their parents.