The Story Orchestra: The Magic Flute - Katy Flint

Music and story combine in this gorgeous book, The Magic Flute. Push the button on each of the 10 double pages to hear the vivid sounds of an orchestra and singers performing excerpts of Mozart's classic opera.

This tale of a prince, a princess and a magic flute begins in a mountain ridge between two magical lands. Prince Tamino enters, chased by a dragon, but three brave mountain rangers gallop past on horseback to rescue him. His cowardly friend Papageno comes out from his hiding place and they revive the prince. The rangers ask for one favour in return. Their boss, the Queen of the Night, asks Prince Tamino to rescue her daughter, Princess Pamina, from the evil Sun King. She gives Tamino a magic flute and Papageno some magic bells to help them. The story follows Prince Tamino as he breaks into the Sun King's palace, charms the court with his magic flute, and gets caught by the guards. Will the prince escape with the princess?

At the back of the book, you'll find a short biography of the composer with details about The Magic Flute. Next to this, you can replay the musical excerpts and read a discussion of the instruments, rhythms and musical techniques that make them so powerful. A glossary defines musical terms.

The Story Orchestra series brings classical music to life for children through gorgeously illustrated retellings of classic ballet and music stories paired with 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores. Check out the other books: Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Carnival of Animals and The Nutcracker.