Handel at the Court of Kings – Zeezok Publishing

Posted by Lorren on March 9, 2010

I was recently sent a copy of two books by Zeezok publishing: Handel at the Court of Kings and Robert Schumann and Mascot Ziff. This is sold as a pack of two as part of their Great Musician’s Series.

There are many ways that a homeschool family can go about using this book. We have decided to read the book together. I have my daughter read some of the shorter paragraphs, while I read the longer paragraphs. We’ll read the story together, and then we’ll listen to the musical passages in the story.

There are several things that my daughter learns while reading this story with me. For one, she learns how to read longer words. Many of the words are fairly difficult for seven-year-olds, or at least for mine. Some of these words include orchestra, clavichord, conductor, and Medici. She is also able to learn a little bit about the lives of these musicians, and about the times they lived in. It’s done in a way that is not intimidating or difficult. When I asked my daughter what she thought about these books, she said that they were “cool.”

Each book has a study guide that goes along with the books. Each of the four chapters has a timeline in the study guide that lists what was going on in the world at the time, reading comprehension questions, notes of interest, and character qualities that the musician displayed. We haven’t really used these much, mostly because reading the book seems to be just about the right amount of work for my daughter. They would probably come in handy for older kids though.

We are able to do about a half chapter a day. We tried a whole chapter the first day, and it was a bit much for my daughter. Each book is four chapters long.

There are music notes in the book that young piano players, with a little bit of experience, can play. It uses two hands, but no chords. It’s a little advanced for my little girl to play, but would be useful for musicians with a little more experience.

We use these books in music class, but you could also use them in reading class, unit studies, or perhaps history.