Green Golly & her Golden Flute

Green Golly & her Golden Flute
Written & Performed by: 
   Keith Torgan & Barbara Steel
Illustrations by: 
   Suzanne Langelier-Lebeda
ISBN: 978-1936172610
$19.99 (Book w/ CD)
 (Note: if you purchase it on Amazon you purchase the CD separately)

About the book:

Green Golly & her Golden Flute is a beautiful new picture book-with-audio, based on the Parents’ Choice® Gold Award winning recording by the same name, written and performed by Keith Torgan and Barbara Siesel. The book introduces children to the magic of classical music via a whimsical re-working of the traditional tale of Rapunzel.

In the old days, Rapunzel had to cope with isolation, boredom, and an abbreviated social life, but her modern-day alter ego, Green Golly, has a beautiful golden flute to express her deepest feelings and a life filled with music by the world’s greatest composers. A keen observer of all that whizzes by her tower window, Green Golly is inclined to rely on her musical abilities to help unravel the mysteries of life in this funny, engaging tale of romance and rescue, interwoven with works of Mozart, Mendelssohn, Schubert, Gossec, Elgar, Bizet, Chopin, and Copland.

My thoughts:
Wow! I was raised classically on the Piano and Cello and also played the Bass growing up and the accompanying CD for Green Golly really brought back my love for Classical Piano and the feelings that came from deep inside whenever I listened to classical music concerts as a kid. The CD is one of the best book audios I've ever heard and the accompanying flute by Barbara Siesel and the Piano music by Jessica Krash is absolutely beautiful.

Green Golly is beautifully illustrated all the way through. The colors are bright and the pictures delightful. If you've ever seen a Susan Branch book you'll know what I mean - those are the kinds of illustrations in the book. They are very captivating and designed to draw a kid into the story. This version of the story is a little different then the Rapunzel story you've read to your kids and I'll admit I actually like this story much better. It's more a full length story with the "whole" story included.

Keith Torgan (storyteller) really makes the story on the audio POP. He has created a wonderful "cast" of characters - the witch is hilarious - and he reminds me strongly of Rumplestiltskin on the TV show Once Upon a Time. I can just picture the witch and her movements from his voice.

I really hope there will be more classical books in the future by Keith & Barbara. I could see Peter & the Wolf (of course), The Nutcracker, and a few others - and I plan on adding them to my personal library if they do! You can learn more on their website @ The Green Golly Project as well as find a concert calendar and lots more! (Click on the stars around Green Golly - the one at the very bottom on the left side is a GREAT place to start!)

Note:  The book is available with two options for accessing the audio component (narration and music): 1) an audio CD or 2) a free StorySticker app that enables downloading of the audio material to mobile devices and computers.  This information is included on the inside of the book in detail.

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Disclaimer:
I was offered a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review. I was not required to post a positive review and no money exchanged hands. Thanks for reading CCB!