This Book Will Make You Want to Bring More Music Into Your Child's Life

I picked this book from a small gift & book shop located in the crypt of St Martin in the Fields Church at the edge of Trafalgar Square and I am very glad I did. The book is written by Joan Koenig, a pioneering music educator and owner of L’Ecole Koenig Conservatory, Preschool and Kindergarten in Paris.

I picked this one up almost by chance. Very glad I did.

The Musical Child is about the positive impact music can have on children’s development in their early years. The book follows a child’s development from infancy to age six. For each age, Koenig describes the different stages of a child’s development and demonstrates how music can fit into each one like a therapeutic puzzle piece.

This is exactly why music deserves a place in childhood.

“Music provides a lifelong emotional outlet, a means of expressing our complex feelings of joy, longing, or nostalgia. Music is one of the principal triggers of nostalgia, along with taste and smell. Music can create the feeling of nostalgia, but music is also our go-to choice when we want to call up this bittersweet emotion.” (Page 179)

Creativity is a door we can help children open early and keep open for life.

The author shares stories from her classrooms, along with practical tips based on the latest research into these critical years, when children are particularly receptive to music. The book is also full of activities, musical games, recordings and tutorials available instantly with scannable QR codes that you can enjoy together with your child.

The discipline behind the beauty.

As a parent for whom music has been there from the beginning, I am happy to recommend this book to all families, music teachers and anyone interested in childhood and education.