SHOWDOWN SYMPHONY with a Trio of Creators!

A Convo with a Trio -- A Tribute to Collaboration and Creativity

What a delightful conversation with not 1, not 2, but 3 creators!  Join in to hear their thoughts about their individual contributions, the amazing collaboration and how it all came together to create an unrivaled musical, artistic story that is full of conflict, tempo changes and more!

SHOWDOWN SYMPHONY

Not only is this a delightful concept to create a book with illustrations and music that work together as a musical teaching tool -- as well as an entertaining story, the illustrations are absolutely adorable too! The whole project is lovely -- a wonderful tool in the music room to teach various tempos (with their Italian names), but equally a fun adventurous story in its own right. Teachers, students, animal lovers, music lovers -- will all be lovers of this book, too!

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

This is the trailer for the project.  I love this one because it's the actual reader and has the music, so you get a real taste for what it's like.  Even this small clip you could use in your music class for these particular tempos. For more resources, be sure to check out the YouTube playlist in the links section.

​Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics
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ELA

• Rhyme
  • Allegro --Rhyming couplets
  • Adagio -- Quatrains (ABAB rhyme pattern)
  • Andante -- Tercet (AAA rhyme pattern)
  • Scherzo -- Rhyming couplets
  • Allegretto --Quatrains (ABAB rhyme pattern)
• Onomatopoeia
• Alliteration
• Strong verbs
• Conflict in stories
• Problem/solution
• Vocabulary!! (Consider teaching kids to create a word bank for stories. For instance in this story, a good word bank would be various words about movement, how animals move. Go through and find all the words that relate to movement. Then maybe categorize them.  Then have students create their own word bank and write a story using their word bank.)

SCIENCE

• Forest/woodland habitat
• Food chain

DANCE

• Tie in with music
• Move to various tempos
• Choreograph a dance move for each animal's motif

ART

• Draw to the music
• Create puppets for the animals

THEATER

• Use puppets to act out story
• Act out story
• Assign students to be characters; create a voice for each character, mannerisms, etc.

​​Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
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Tempo
This one seems like the most obvious. The whole book is designed to teach about tempo and their Italian terminology, so for sure I would lean into that.  Here are the tempos that are featured in the book.

• Allegro
• Adagio
• Andante
• Scherzo
• allegretto

There are many ways you could teach these. Check out the links section for ideas. I love the idea of using puppets (see below) and movement to help cement this terminology and these concepts.
Featured instruments
If you listen to the music carefully (or listen to the interview), the composer features several instruments in the musical accompaniment to the story. Musical scavenger hunt (discovering the instruments for each character) would be fun as well as other activities featuring these instruments (and characters)

• Mouse -- Oboe
• Cat -- Viola
• Owl -- Harp/French horn
• Dog -- Trombone

Discuss "motifs" and how the composer used them in this composition.
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In addition to highlighting these in the book, it's a great time to introduce them to these instruments in very intentional ways as well.  Sound samples, videos, demonstrations, visiting artists, allowing kids to see, touch and encounter these instruments in whatever ways possible would be great!

Beyond these two obvious ways to use the book in the music room, two other ideas that come to mind are:

1. Using music as accompaniment to stories.
   1. Creating their own accompaniment to a favorite story
   2. Exploring other accompaniments to stories
2. Acting out the story with puppets (check out the Pinterest board for lots of easy puppets to make and utilize with the story.). This idea could easily attach to tempo as you would have the puppet animals move at the tempo of the music.

​​Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1. If Mouse had stayed put in the forest, do you think Owl or Cat would have won?  Why?
2. This book is full of rhyme.  Choose another animal and write a rhyming poem featuring your animal.
3. Why do you think the author changed the poetic format for each tempo.
4. What is your favorite physical activity?  Which tempo matches it best? Explain.
5. Mouse is in a difficult place -- between owl and cat.  Have you ever been in a situation where neither outcome seemed good?  What did you do?  Write that story.
6. Start where Mouse is between Owl and Cat. Write a different ending to the story.
7. Pretend you are one of Mouse's kids. Write a letter to your mom. Be sure to include some of the details of the story in your letter.
8. Why do you think the composer chose the harp AND the French horn to represent the owl?  Do you think that was a good choice?  What would YOU have chosen? Why?
9. Choose one of the animals from the book. Write a report or a nonfiction article about that animal. Be sure to do good research.
10. Do you like rhyming books? Why or why not?
11. Write a letter to the author or the illustrator or the composer telling them why you like (or don't like) the choices they made when creating this book.
12. Write your own book review for this book.
13. Choose a different set of animals and write your own story with a strong conflict.
14. Choose your favorite illustration from the book and write a descriptive paragraph about it.
15. Write another story (it doesn't have to rhyme) using at least 3 of the tempos that are featured in this story.

Writing Tips from Kevin

1. Find and join your tribe  
Taking your book idea all the way through to publication is almost always a long journey full of hills and valleys. The best piece of advice I can give is to find good companions. By joining the right Facebook groups and following helpful authors in your space on Instagram and TikTok, you'll save yourself so much time by learning as many things as possible through their successes and failures in addition to your own. 

2. Seek and embrace expert feedback 
I've attended perhaps a dozen SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators) conferences, received paid critiques on my manuscripts from editors and agents, and worked with five different self-publishing and marketing coaches. What I've learned from them all hasn't been cheap, but compared to how long it would've taken me to gain their wisdom on my own, their input has been invaluable.  

3. Clarify and follow your goals
What does success look like to you? Do you really want to land your book with a traditional publisher, or are you fine to self-publish? Is your project a labor of love that you won't mind only your family and friends supporting, or do you really want to reach a wider market? Being clear about your goals, and *especially* about the ability of your manuscript to get you there, can save you lots of time, money, and frustration. Again, it's extremely helpful to get advice from agents and editors who publish what you're writing. You may have written a beautifully crafted story, but agents and editors will know whether or not its subject matter and audience is sellable at the moment. Again, it's typically a long road from idea to print, and I wish you all the courage, conviction, and good companionship you can muster! 

Composition Tips from Emmaline

• Always start with an inspiration whether it's a personal experience, a place, or a story. When you write music about something, it's always much more impactful.
• Although reading music is helpful, you don't need to read music to write it! Just pick up an instrument of your choice, learn how to play chords (much faster than learning to read music), and experiment!
• Listen to the kind of music you want to write. It's ok to copy a little when you're just starting out. That's how we learn!

Art Advice for Up-and-Coming Illustrators from Sarah

​- Never stop striving for excellence in your craft, seeking out qualified peers to learn from and take solid critiques from. 
- Only about 25% of the job is making art, the rest is building a business, marketing, making connections, and fostering positive relationships everywhere you go. 
- Draw what you love, and your passion will show! 

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
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YouTube Playlist with read-alouds, trailers, interviews, additional music activities and lessons and more!

Pinterest board with lots of activities related to the characters in the book, the instruments highlighted in the music, the featured tempos 

Guest Links and Giveaway

Kevin's Connections:
Email: [email protected]

Web: www.showdownsymphony.com
 - Contains free and paid resources for elementary music and ELA instruction 

YouTube (videos created with a fellow 6th grade teacher): Sixth Grade Support

The Book Video Trailer on YouTube

IG: kevin.klein.writing

Emmaline's Connections:
Website: https://www.emmalinemusic.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emmaline__music/

Sarah's Connections:
Website: https://www.sarahnewellillustration.com/

To be eligible to win your choice of prizes, simply leave a comment below no later than 11:59 PM ET on October 15, 2025. A random winner will be drawn after that, and the winner will be contacted via email.

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