THERE IS NO better way to introduce children to classical music than with Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale of the little boy who, with the help of a bird, outsmarted the big, bad wolf. A new retelling by Janet Schulman follows the basic story, but with a kinder ending for both the big, bad wolf and the argumentative duck. Peter Malone’s paintings have the luminous quality of old Russian masters.

Retells the orchestral fairy tale of the boy who, ignoring his grandfather's warnings, proceeds to capture a wolf.

The story of Peter and the Wolf continues to delight children and adults all over the world. At the heart of the tale is the message that you can't be a hero if you don't take risks.

Music from Peter & The Wolf

Reprint. Originally published: New York: Viking, 1982.

"The book follows Prokofiev's personal and musical journey from his childhood on a Ukrainian country estate to the years he spent travelling in America and Europe as an acclaimed interpreter of his own works. Nice sheds new light on the striking compositions of Prokofiev's early years, his training at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and the circumstances of his departure from Russia in 1918 for what the composer thought would be a short tour of America.

This account of the renowned composer’s neglected wife—including her years in a Soviet prison—is “a story both riveting and wrenching” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). Serge Prokofiev was one of the twentieth century’s most brilliant composers yet is an enigma to historians and his fans. Why did he leave the West and move to the Soviet Union despite Stalin’s crimes? Why did his astonishing creativity in the 1930s soon dissolve into a far less inspiring output in his later years? The answers can finally be revealed, thanks to Simon Morrison’s unique and unfettered access to the family’s voluminous papers and his ability to reconstruct the tragic, riveting life of the composer’s wife, Lina. Morrison’s portrait of the marriage of Lina and Serge Prokofiev is the story of a remarkable woman who fought for survival in the face of unbearable betrayal and despair and of the irresistibly talented but heartlessly self-absorbed musician she married. Born to a Spanish father and Russian mother in Madrid at the end of the nineteenth century and raised in Brooklyn, Lina fell in love with a rising-star composer—and defied convention to be with him, courting public censure. She devoted her life to Serge and art, training to be an operatic soprano and following her brilliant husband to Stalin’s Russia. Just as Serge found initial acclaim—before becoming constricted by the harsh doctrine of socialist-realist music—Lina was at first accepted and later scorned, ending her singing career. Serge abandoned her and took up with another woman. Finally, Lina was arrested and shipped off to the gulag in 1948. She would be held in captivity for eight awful years. Meanwhile, Serge found himself the tool of an evil regime to which he was forced to accommodate himself. The contrast between Lina and Serge is one of strength and perseverance versus utter self-absorption, a remarkable human drama that draws on the forces of art, sacrifice, and the struggle against oppression. Readers will never forget the tragic drama of Lina’s life, and never listen to Serge’s music in quite the same way again.

Discover Prokofiev's classic adventure classic adventure of a brave and clever boy and his friends the bird, the duck, and the cat, and what they do when a wolf comes out of the forest. Full-color illustrations.

There′s dreadful news from the symphony hall-the composer is dead! If you have ever heard an orchestra play, then you know that musicians are most certainly guilty of something. Where exactly were the violins on the night in question? Did anyone see the harp? Is the trumpet protesting a bit too boisterously? In this perplexing murder mystery, everyone seems to have a motive, everyone has an alibi, and nearly everyone is a musical instrument. But the composer is still dead. Perhaps you can solve the crime yourself. Join the Inspector as he interrogates all the unusual suspects. Then listen to the accompanying audio recording featuring Lemony Snicket and the music of Nathaniel Stookey performed by the San Francisco Symphony. Hear for yourself exactly what took place on that fateful, well-orchestrated evening.

Sergei Prokofiev composed his Peter and the Wolf in 1936 with the hope of introducing children to the instruments of the orchestra. It happens that he also devised a wonderfully dramatic story. The characters - boy, bird, duck, cat, grandfather, wolf, hunters - and their doings have been beloved by young and old for decades. Writer, artist, musician, and Caldecott Medalist Chris Raschka has given the original story a new setting: a stage performance. Here you will relish language inspired music; enjoy mischief, suspense, and triumph in the theater; and delight in a surprise (and an additional character) Prokofiev's merry tale didn't provide. Please do not turn immediately to the last page.