Village Gamer

Susan Hammond’s award-winning Classical Kids series has been re-developed for the iOS Apple iPad tablet and will be released via the Apple app store on May 22. Classical Kids -The Complete Teachers Edition features seven individual Classical Kids stories with accompanying teacher’s notes and includes the Juno and Emmy winning Beethoven Lives Upstairs, the platinum-selling Mr. Bach Comes to Call and the Juno and Parent’s Choice Gold Award winning Vivaldi’s Ring of Mystery. The Complete Teacher’s Edition app is priced at C$139 and individual Teacher’s Editiontitles are available for C$19.99.

The Classical Kids series has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide since its debut in 1988 and revolutionized the way children, parents and educators approach classical music. Each composer’s music is presented in historical context, told through the eyes of a fictional child who leads listeners into the composer’s world. The “Teacher’s Notes” enhance the educational benefits of the stories, providing opportunities to incorporate them into home or classroom curriculum.

The original Classical Kids series, used by tens of thousands of K-8 students across North America, now includes illustrations and interactive tools, creating a robust educational app designed for the iPad and Smart Boards, for use in classrooms and at home. Along with the seven stories and companion teacher’s notes, the app includes an interactive audio recorder and metronome, quizzes with email support, password protection, a community forum and research links. Financial support for the development of the app was provided by the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Music Fund and the Government of Canada through the Canada Music Fund.