It is a wonderful story about a little boy, Frederic Pipkin, who was born in a musical family that hoped for Frederic to play an instrument. But Frederic was not interested in any instruments or playing music at all, until he encountered a live orchestra concert and saw a conductor at work. Frederic was fascinated with the conductor, and then he himself conducted a song at a family gathering when everyone was playing a different instrument; he found his calling. This book is about not forcing kids to pursue an instrument, and let them fall in love with what moves them. I myself played piano as a child, and watched a lot of my peers suffer from mandatory piano lessons. My parents never did make me, and they let me finish lessons when I felt it was getting too much on top of my school. I still miss playing! ( )

Frederic is born into a family that all know how to play an instrument. When Frederic is old enough to start playing an instrument, he finds that he isn't really that good at the piano. He also finds that he isn't that great at playing the clarinet. He also tries different other instruments and he is not that great at them as well. Then he sees this guy, waving a baton and music is being played from the instruments. He found this very fascinating. Frederic then decided that he will make music by using a baton and having his family play together. Frederic was not enthused about playing music but once he found a really cool way to make music. ( )

Frederic is trying to find his niche in his very talented and musical family. They pre-determined his fate to be a legendary pianist, but the talent was just not there. However, Frederic finds his own talent in his musical world that is unexpected as a music conductor. I would use this book in my classroom because it introduces the art of music in a fun way, while also showing kids to explore their options for prospective hobbies/talents. ( )

A story about a boy who can't seem to fit into his musical family. One day he sees an orchestra that his sister is playing in and falls in love with the conductor's job. After that, he managed to get his family to work together to create a beautiful song. I would use this book in a music class because it shows the different types of instruments. ( )