Aimed at those from beginner to Grade 1 level, this is one of the most wide-ranging, clever, imaginative and child-friendly books Ive encountered. I like the physical approach, 'floating with your gravity-defying violin, introducing sliding up and down the fingerboard in harmonics very early and taking your bow into space orbit. From the earliest stages, plucking simple rhythms on open strings, the child is involved, via the CD or piano accompaniment, in playing real pieces of music by composers such as Albeniz, Bizet and Grieg, cunningly arranged by the author. As with other beginners books, new techniques are brought in section by section, but there is much more besides like brain-teasers that connect rhythms with words of one or more syllables, fact files, technical tips and challenges all arranged in a visually exciting way.
Music Teacher Magazine, May 2007
