Pierre et le loup

Gr 1 Up—This beautiful and whimsical version of Prokofiev's classic includes a 30-minute, mixed-media film and playful, music-oriented activities. The movie presents the story of Peter and the Wolf through a visually striking combination of animation intermixed with live-action scenes of a child interacting with members of the L'Orchestre national de France and musical director Daniel Gatti. Throughout, scenes incorporate the use of colorful backgrounds, silhouettes, various fonts, and musical notations. While the limited narration is in French, all can enjoy the movie.The 10 interactive activities are accessed in one of two ways: through the menu bar at the bottom of the screen or by swiping an arrow on the top right corner. The activities explore each of the characters (Peter, the Wolf, Bird, Cat, Duck, Grandfather, and Hunters) and their musical themes.Some screens incorporate Mativision technology; in one of the activities viewers must scan a nighttime scene by moving the iPad as they try to snap of photo of le loup as it creeps through in the woods. In another, as viewers hold the iPad, they can turn it to get a 360-degree virtual "bird's-eye" view of the orchestra playing the musical theme for Peter. It should be noted that although each activity is supported by brief spoken and written instructions in French, the activities are intuitive and viewers should have no difficulty determining how to play. This wonderful exploration of a classic symphony for children won the prestigious 2014 BolgnaRagazzi Digital Award in the nonfiction category.—Leanne Bowler, School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh