Our family received a CD story of The Tortoise and the Hare by Maestro Classics, featuring the London Philharmonic Orchestra.  Stephen Simon, the conductor and composer, combines classic children’s stories to symphony orchestra music.  He does an excellent job of telling the story while bringing in musical instruments and verbiage to help expand the knowledge of the listeners. This is a sneaky way of educating our kids while they believe they are simply being entertained, so I like that!

These CD’s are great for bedtime or car rides. I originally put the story on during play time and they quickly tuned it out, finding it rather dry.  However, in a more “captive” setting, like quiet time at night or in the car, they are more apt to enjoy this.  I would recommend this for younger children.  My 11 year old was not especially interested, but would listen and learn something anyway.  In any event, audio stories are a win-win in our home so this was eagerly accepted.

The price of Tortoise and the Hare is $16.98.  Other products include:

Peter and the Wolf
The Story of Swan Lake
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Casey at the Bat
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel
Juanita the Spanish Lobster
Juanita la longosta espanola

Check out their website at www.magicmaestromusic.com.