Berlioz the Bear

Looking for a way to incorporate music and reading?  Ever heard of a bear playing a bass?

     Open the cover of Berlioz the Bear and dive into a world of instrument playing animals, cleverly crafted by Jen Barret.  A group of bears, an orchestra of bears to be exact, are on their way to perform for the ball in the village.  Poor Berlioz is fretting about the disturbing buzzing noise coming from his double bass.  Paying too much attention to his buzzing bass and too little attention to the mule pulling the bandwagon, he is unable to steer away from a deep hole that halts their journey.  Despite the help of several animals, the wagon remains stuck on the path as the time of the ball draws near.



   
 Jen Brett's colorful illustrations bring the story to life and there certainly is not a lack of detail in her vibrant depictions of the journey to the gala.  It is particularly interesting how she captures both the adventures of the bandwagon in the foreground and the occurrences in the town square in the background and along the upper border on each page.  While animals are coming to assist the helpless band, the border along the top of the page enables to the reader to see the number of animals that are making their way to the town square.  On each new page, two new animals walk along the path on the left and right margins of the pages to join the rest of the town.
     When all hope seems to have vanished Berlioz bows his bass so that it buzzes, which releases a bee from the instrument's hollow body.  With one sting from the bee, the mule lurches forward and pulls forward, bringing the band to the town square just in the nick of time.  Once the band reaches the square the illustrations along the upper border of the page vanish, signaling that the band has arrived.  As if her illustrations could not add more to the text, readers will discover a hidden reference to the "Flight of the Bumblebee" on the final page of the story.
      The story not only provides classroom discussion through the illustrations, but also unfolds countless lessons about the orchestra, composer Hector Berlioz, and the Flight of the Bumblebee.  Looking closely at the instruments in the bandwagon students will become familiar with the various orchestra instruments and the book can easily be tied into a lesson on the orchestra.  Teachers can likewise ask their students if they have any idea as to why the bear was named Berlioz, explaining that he was named after a famous composer named Hector Berlioz.
      Personally at first I was hesitant to read this book, but grew to love it as the story developed.  I even found that I could certainly use this book to connect to my own lives and demonstrate personal connections to my class.  In fact, my favorite animal has always been a bear and since about fourth grade band has been an important puzzle piece in my life.  Through telling a bit about my own interests I would challenge my students to make connections to their personal lives when reading any book they pick up.