Really enjoyed this book as did my 4 year old. Beautiful illustrations throughout as well as wonderful facts.

Thanks to Netgalley and Frances Lincoln Children’s for the ARC of this!

This series is so cool! Without the sound it feels a little hard to fully review this, I wish there’d be links or something for the ebook file. The art was good, the text seemed like an appropriate amount for a read aloud and there was a good amount of information about each planet.

Such a great book! My nieces enjoyed it when I read it to them and I'm sure they will love it even more when I boy the physical copy and they can get the whole experience. Congratulations to the writer/illustrator for such a great work.

Interactive book- press button on page to hear a clip of music composed by Gustav Holst
*Weaves story of two siblings exploring the planets while sharing facts about each planet
*Beautiful illustrations
*Composer’s biography & recap of planets and songs at the end of book to reinforce learning
*Great way to introduce symphony music to children!
*Part of The Story Orchestra Series
-I also own the Nutcracker book and absolutely love it!
-I wish the ARC would have included the music.

*GOOD HOUSEKEEPING BEST KIDS BOOK AWARD 2023 WINNER*

Thank you to NetGalley, Quarto Publishing, and Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

Science and the arts are perfectly combined in The Story Orchestra:The Planets by Jessica Courtney Tickle. Siblings Tim and Helen have a fresh new space-themed bedroom which magically launches them on a space adventure through the universe! Readers will learn about the solar system while also hearing musical samples from the movements of Gustav Holst's "The Planets" orchestral suite.

I loved the bright and eye-catching illustrations. Children will love poring over the details of each page and the various planetary stops. The addition of music offers a multi-sensory experience--what a great way to foster interest in music and astronomy at the same time. Background on Gustav Holst is included at the end of the book and offers a great learning extension of the book. What a fun and engaging book to add to your library!

Disclaimer: I received a free digital edition of The Story Orchestra: The Planets through NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group Frances Lincoln Children's Books for a temporary digital review copy via NetGalley of ‘The Story Orchestra: the Planets’. It is illustrated by Jessica Courtney Tickle with text by Helen Mortimer and Matthew O’Keefe.

This is part of a new series of nonfiction books that introduces children, aged 5-8, to classical music through illustrated retellings of various music stories, including ballet and opera, accompanied by 10-second sound clips of orchestras playing from their musical scores.

This book in the series focuses on Gustav Holst and his seven-part orchestral suite, The Planets.

One night as Helen and Tim prepare for bed in their new space rocket bunk beds, they magically blast up and away leaving Earth behind. During the night they visit seven planets in our solar system. On each page is a ‘Press Here’ button that in the physical edition plays a sound clip.

Following the illustrated story there is a brief biography of Holst, details about the composition, and a glossary of musical terms.

I felt that this is an innovative way for parents, guardians, and educators to introduce children to the beauty of classical music, utilising this charming story. The book also presents scientific information about each of the planets.

Note: obviously as I was reviewing a digital edition I am unable to comment on the quality of the sound clips.

An interesting publication, that I think is a least two half-successes, if not more. Magical bunk-beds take siblings Tim and Helen on a trip around the solar system, which allows for some ridiculous images (them and their dog walking around on Venus and not suffering, them standing on the rings of Saturn…) while we the observer get to prod the book and cause it to play Holst's Planets suite at each page-turn. The point then is we see the variety in the planets, and a touch of the asteroid belt, with edifying music. And the end matter concentrates on that, as we get more buttons for a reprise, and a tiny paragraph tells us a bit about what we're hearing. But that's only in relation to the story we've enjoyed, or what it actually is we're listening to – not really what Holst was trying to convey.

So the space science here is a touch on the light and ropey side, but acceptable as far as books for the young go, and the look at Holst's classical music is fine (well, I don't know about how well it was recorded and reproduced, this being a digital copy where pressing at my laptop screen results in nothing of use to anyone). But it might have engaged with the composer's intentions much more closely, to convey the story there – OK, a lot of that involves (afaik) classical personifications for the planets based in part on mythology, and therefore is perhaps a little over some young heads, but we might have learnt what Holst was wanting us to get from this music of his. As it is, it's a good missed opportunity, and three and a smidge stars.

I gave this to my 7 year old granddaughter to read and review. Her comments are below:
Hi this is the review for

The story orchestra: The Planets

It was educational and fun. Children will enjoy listening to the sounds.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star

Add on I love it

So that was a big win from the target audience. A colourful mixes the music and the background information on the planets. A great book. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

I got this on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review!

I have seen this series around a few times and I can definitely understand the hype! Although my copy did not have the songs, I did listen to the songs alongside reading it to get the full experience! Love the connection between the composer, his music and the topic at hand! Also thought this book gave a wonderful but short summary of main features of each of the planets! Recommend it, especially if you enjoy this series already!

Pros: Jupiter from Holst's The Planets is one of my very favorite pieces of music. I was thrilled to see this book because I would like to share my love of that piece and the larger work with the kids in my life. I think this book would be a great introduction to doing that. It appears that there is an interactive element in this book where the music plays along with the reading, which it a wonderful way to present the book and music together. The fantastic illustrations add an additional artistic layer to this reading experience. I was thrilled to learn that this book is part of a series of books that bring classical music to life--I want to read more of these books!

Cons: None that I can think of!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Frances Lincoln Children's Books for the opportunity to read this book.

This is a wonderful children’s non-fiction picture book. It’s actually part of a new-to-me series introducing children to famous classical music through words, pictures and short excerpts of music.
This book is all about Helen and Tim, a brother and sister who travel through space visiting the planets in the solar system. To accompany each planet they visit there are buttons to press that play small excerpts of music from Gustav Holst’s The Planets.
I actually listened to my CD of The Planets whilst looking at the book and loved how the illustrations worked really well with the music, along with the facts about each planet that the children visited. I actually read this on my PC so was able to enjoy the brilliant illustrations in a bigger format, and the quality was excellent.
At the back of the book is a short biography about Gustav Holst with details about his composition of The Planets. Along with this, you can replay the musical excerpts and, learn about the instruments, rhythms and musical techniques that he used.
I love classical music, and really wish that this series had been around when my son was a child, as he would have really enjoyed it.
Highly recommended as the perfect introduction to classical music for children, plus it and would make a fantastic Christmas gift!

The Story of Orchestra: The Planets is a beautiful addition to the series.

The eye catching double page spreads with bite sized facts are the perfect combination for the small planeteers in your life. Although the digital copy doesn't have the addition of the musical numbers, I have no doubt that the story will shine even brighter.

The notes in the back enable readers to learn about the musician, Gustav Holst. This allowed me to find the songs online.

This books will be a wonderful addition to any home or school library as well as a perfect gift for someone in your life. I will adding the physical book to my own collection.

Thank you to Quartro Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

The magic of these books is the introduction of the beautiful music excerpts for small children. The illustrations are always beautiful too. This newest in the series has a fictional storyline of children exploring the solar system, but is also sprinkled with lots of facts about each planet, and I can see it appealing to fans of non-fiction.

I wish the music would have worked for this review copy because I imagine it adds a magical quality to the book that you didn’t quite get without it. My four year old still really enjoyed going on the journey with Helen and Tim and I’m definitely interested in looking up the true version to read with my son. It’s always fun learning new facts about the solar system!

Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” is one of my favorite pieces of classical music, so when I saw this book listed as available to review, I was ecstatic .

Despite this being a book for children, adults will enjoy the music along with the fantastic illustrations.

The story itself is simple: Helen and Tim’s mother decorated their room in a space motif with new space rocket bunk beds. Instead of sleeping, they along with their ginger kitty, embark on an adventure through the solar system with Holst’s majestic music to accompany them.

Unfortunately, because I had a pdf copy of the book, I couldn’t listen to the music but as I am totally familiar with Holst’s work, I could play the pieces in my mind as I read the text and admired the delightful illustrations.

This book would appeal to anyone who is interested in space exploration accompanied by music and for fans, like me, of Gustav Holst.

5/5 stars

[Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the advanced ebook copy in exchange for my honest and objective opinion which I have given here.]

This is a fabulous little book as a Digital Advanced Reader Copy that I can only imagine what joy the physical copy will bring. I think the idea of setting music to each of the planetary descriptions is novel ,welcome, and exciting. The classical pieces encourage an appreciation of music whilst the subject matter is one tackled by every primary school aged child. I hope to see the author cover other key subjects in a similar way..

I just recently heard about The Story Orchestra books, so I enjoyed getting to look over this. The illustrations are beautiful, and while the information seems to be lacking without the music pieces, I think it'd be just right if we did get to play the pieces. I look forward to getting my hands on a physical copy in this series now!

The Story Orchestra is a magical story about two siblings who explore deep into the solar system. This was such a fun read, and the added music feature will be such a big hit with the kids. The illustrations are beautiful and very informational for anyone who is just learning about the solar system or someone who has a passion for it.

What a beautiful book! I cannot wait to buy the physical copy. My son in the spectrum loves music and loves the story and beautiful illustrations

I thought this book was a really cool concept, and I loved how music is incorporated in the story. I thought the illustrations depicting space were gorgeous. My one dislike was the placement of the words. I wasn't a big fan of how they were all within one circle of text. I felt like it might have looked nicer if the text was spread out a bit and possibly more incorporated with the illustrations. Other than that, super cool book!