Children's Literature - Mary Hynes-Berry

Ever since the Sound of Music movie came out in 1965, the music of the Von Trapp family has been one of the most famous musical stories in the world. This entry in Sleeping Bear Press's series of alphabet books set around the world focuses on the history of the real Austrian family who escaped the Nazis and brought their music and spirit to America. Each spread has a brief rhymed text related to the story that features one letter of the alphabet. Thus, B is for Brothers and sisters and C is for the Captain. This text is filled out by one of Graves realistic full color drawings—in this case showing the seven siblings listening to the Captain playing his guitar. In much smaller type, the sidebars provide much more detail about Captain Von Trapp's naval career and the death of his first wife. This structure makes the book very flexible—younger children can concentrate on "reading the pictures" while reinforcing alphabet recognition. Parents, teachers, or older children will be drawn into the family's story. Some may be inspired to think of going to the Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont—singing their favorite tune from the musical as they follow the cross country ski trails there. Reviewer: Mary Hynes-Berry