The Orchestra Pit

June 9, 2014
Wright’s (Bunnies on Ice) batty sense of humor should engage readers from the start as an inquisitive green serpent finds itself in an orchestra pit. “I have a feeling I’m in the wrong pit,” it muses. The snake is seen reclining in the tuba (“quite roomy!”), as well as considering the trombone (“almost as long as I am!”) and French horn (“Bonjour, French horn!”). It can’t understand the commotion it causes, or why the players are dashing for cover (“Something must have startled them”). Readers are also introduced to the woodwinds (“That oboe is rather charming,” says the snake, coiling up instinctively and swaying to the music) and strings, and a passage in which the snake compares the various sections’ sounds to animal noises (“The percussion sounds like a gorilla”) offers a useful educational simile amid the fun. Wright’s sprightly narration and sweet temper recall picture books of the pre-irony era, and the physical comedy in her acrylic paintings will keep readers absorbed—and laughing—until the snake returns to the “right” pit. Ages 2–6. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio.

July 1, 2014
A snake meandering into "the wrong pit" leads readers through this appealing introduction to an orchestra and its instruments-brass, wind instruments, strings and percussion.Children in simple uniforms perform in a sunken outdoor amphitheater framed by trees. The snake's narration channels a child's guilelessness, but there are sly bits, too. Coiling attentively before a cross-legged musician on a round rug, the snake quips, "That oboe is rather charming." After presenting the violin, viola and cello in their respectively graduating sizes, the snake confesses, "I'm quite attached to the bass." A page turn reveals a dramatic central spread: The sheepish narrator has swallowed the bass fiddle whole! Some performers quail at the snake's presence, of course; a benign animal-control guy conducts a brief, fruitless search. Visual and textual clues reveal the adjacent setting (a zoo) by likening the music to animal sounds: As the brass section plays, the snake asks, "Is that an elephant I hear?" Wright simply depicts the adult conductor's instructive movements: arms drawn in close for "Quiet..." and outstretched for "Loud!" Thinly applied acrylic paint in green, purple and brown reveals the canvas' weave, while black ink contours and delineates instruments, kids and animals. Dots and dashes depict facial features, but varying skin colors and hair textures suggest a diverse, engaged community.Back at the right pit, the snake twists into a treble clef-a charming endnote. (Picture book. 3-6)

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July 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 2-Using a brief, simply worded text, Wright relates the adventure of a white-polka-dotted green snake in its own voice. Mistakenly arriving at an orchestra pit filled with young musicians tuning up for an impending concert, the creature first explores some brass instruments, commenting briefly on each one ("The trombone is almost as long as I am."). It startles some woodwind players, who climb a stage curtain; swallows the string bass ("I'm quite attached to the bass."); then hides in the piano when an animal warden with a net tries to catch it. Finally, the snake compares the sounds of some instruments to animals (horns and trombones to the elephant; woodwinds to a bird). But when the conductor arrives and the full orchestra begins to play, it heads for home ("Out of the wrong pit... /And into.../the right one")-a snake pit at the nearby zoo. The charm of the acrylic-on-canvas paintings lies in the sparingly drawn cartoon people and animals outlined and detailed with black India ink (lines and dots for hair and expressive facial features; musical notes issuing from an elephant's trunk). Backgrounds in shades of green, yellow, and beige are highlighted with aqua, terra cotta, and purple. This charming introduction to the orchestra and its instruments was made to be shared with young children.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2014
Preschool-G I have a feeling I'm in the wrong pit, exclaims a snake as he accidentally wanders into an orchestra. Confused, curious, and charmed all at once, he slithers about the unfamiliar environment, terrifying the musicians who cross his path along the way. In her ink-and-acrylic illustrations, Wright maximizes the comedy that arises as the oblivious snake observes different instruments, while many of the terrified musicians climb up the stage curtains and hide in crowded groups behind the harp. As in Karla Kuskin's The Philharmonic Gets Dressed (1982), what carries the story is how the author creatively acquaints children with the orchestra's instruments through charming illustrations, and here, the snake's quirky perspective ( That oboe is rather charming ) adds a special touch. Indeed, when the snake observes parallels between the instruments he discovers and various animals (in a series of similesand perhaps a subtle reference to his home at the zoo), the author nicely opens the door for children to make their own comparisons, too. A playful, inviting introduction to the orchestra.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)