The Philharmonic Gets Dressed

What a little treat, just charming. Picked it up because it was mentioned in Wild Things and I can't imagine anyone would be bothered by the nudity (implied but not really shown), honestly, the things people get worked up about, sigh. The integration of text and image was so well done I would have imagined a single mind behind it, but not so, apparently. There's so much to see, this could easily be a favourite that's returned to again and again. A real pleasure.

One might mention to children that it was written a long time ago, and there are likely to be many more women in the Philharmonic Orchestra these days!

(Note: 5 stars = amazing, wonderful, 4 = very good book, 3 = decent read, 2 = disappointing, 1 = awful, just awful. I'm fairly show more good at picking for myself so end up with a lot of 4s). show less

This is a marvelous book about the orchestra. It introduces the concept of the symphony by showing the musicans preparing for a concert by bathing and dressing and going to the concert hall. It's a little long for storytime, but for a kid with a good attention span it would be a great one-on-one. It makes me kind of sad that it's no longer very well known, because it's just terrific.

The one hundred and five members of the Philharmonic Orchestra - ninety-two men and thirteen women - get dressed for work in this quirky little picture-book, first published in 1982. Starting with their baths and showers - one enjoys a good read in the tub, while his cat sits by and watches! - and continuing as they don underwear, clothing, and outerwear, before bidding their families and pets goodbye, grabbing their instruments, and heading for midtown, The Philharmonic Gets Dressed chronicles the Friday-evening preparations of one dedicated orchestra.

Chosen by the Picture-Book Club to which I belong as one of six selections for our music-themed March reading program, this amusing story will strike a chord with young readers who enjoy show more tales of people in their underwear (Captain Underpants, anyone?), while also introducing them to the magic of an evening at the symphony. The cartoon-like illustrations of Marc Simont are humorous and appealing, but not (despite some absurd reviews I have seen) inappropriate for children. All in all, I would recommend this story to young music lovers (and their parents), especially if they enjoy somewhat oddball humor. show less

The Philharmonic Gets Dressed written by Karla Kuskin and illustrated by Marc Simont, shows the hundred and five members of a philharmonic orchestra preparing to go to work on a Friday night. Interspersed with gentle humour, the story depicts the preparations the members of the philharmonic go through before the start of a public performance (washing, dressing, traveling to the orchestra hall), and that at a time of day, when most people are settling in for a night at home with their family and friends, the workday of the musicians is just beginning.

Although I quite enjoyed this story, and absolutely adored the illustrations, I would have to agree with my LT friend Lisa that the text feels rather plodding and does not really measure up show more to the descriptive, lively and wonderful illustrations; in fact, I think that I would prefer this book with just the illustrations, as a wordless picture book. The illustrations are evocative enough to engender all kinds of interesting anecdotes, all sorts of stories both humorous and serious, and I feel that the text rather limits the excellent illustrations to an extent and does not do them justice.

One thing that both annoyed and frustrated me (and continues to do so) is the fact that there exist quite a number of online reviews claiming that The Philharmonic Gets Dressed is somehow problematic and inappropriate for children, simply because the illustrations depict men and women taking baths and showers, dressed in their underwear, donning articles of clothing and so on. How unenlightened and ridiculously puritanical, but also, how potentially damaging, as teaching one's children that nakedness, one's body, one's underwear are unnatural and inappropriate to be seen or mentioned, could easily lead to a negative attitude towards both the human body and essential everyday activities such as basic personal hygiene and the act of dressing oneself.

I would recommend this book to children who enjoy quirky stories with humorous illustrations as well as those children (and their parents, of course) who are interested in the workday of members of a philharmonic orchestra. The Philharmonic Gets Dressed would also be a good picture book to share with children whose parents work at night, or at other hours not part of the common nine to five schedule. show less

Very cute book that both kids and their adults will enjoy. One thing that stands out in a negative way is that the book specifically enumerates the number of women and men players. This is fine except it reflects a 1980s idea of how many women would be playing at this level, which is disappointing and we edit the numbers on the fly when reading to our kids. I wish there was an updated version that eliminated this little bit of dated sexism.

When I first started to read this book I was not immediately impressed, but as I flipped a few pages I started to really appreciate this masterpiece. One reason that I liked the book was because of its unique plot. The author, Karla Kuskin, describes the behind the scenes of “one hundred and five people” preparing for “work.” Kuskin gives the characters a sense of individuality even though they are introduced as a whole. Each character has their quirkiness as they bathe, groom, and get dressed, such as one man who, “reads in the tub while the cat watches,” and a women who, “sits in the bubbles and sings.” This helps the reader relate as they may think about their own daily routine or have similar mannerisms. As the book show more continues we start to discover that the one hundred and five people are part of an orchestra and are on their way to the city. I also really liked the ending of this book which actually gave me the chills. The performers have completely transformed and after seeing a rather personal side of the characters, the reader feels connected with each and every performer instead of viewing the entire symphony as one entity. She ends the book where most authors may have started, the orchestra is finally on stage and they begin to play. show less

"It is almost Friday night. Outside, the dark is getting darker," and here and there around the city ninety-two men and thirteen women are getting dressed to go to work. First they bathe and put on their underwear. Then they don special black-and-white apparel. Then when the one hundred and five people are completely ready, each takes a musical instrument and travels to midtown. There, at 8:30 tonight, they will work together: playing.

In these pages Karla Kuskin and Marc Simont combine their talents to give us a delightful and unusual inside view of one way an orchestra prepares.