Octavia's World

12/05/2023

Our trip to the beautiful Polynesian island of Huahine was magical!
My son Teano visited his birthplace and received a warm welcome from his extended family. The entire family performed for us by singing, dancing, and playing homemade instruments. We went fishing in outrigger canoes, harvested coconuts, and dined on roasted breadfruit and fish cooked over an open fire on the beach while Teano’s brother, Teihuaru, accompanied us on his ukulele.

04/05/2023

What a great Monday morning it was! “This weekend I went to my favorite music shop, *Friendly River Music, and bought 20 Ukuleles for our classroom,” Mr. Brio announced to the 4th graders.

He said he was excited about learning how to play his first string instrument. The kids were excited too! I watched them tune the strings. Soon they were playing their first two chords—C and F. It sounded fantastic! I couldn’t wait to get a closer look at those ukuleles….

01/05/2023

Octavia loves to hear the kids play melodies with Boomwhackers. These light, colorful plastic tubes are possibly the most inexpensive and easy-to-play percussion instruments.

To read more about the joys of hitting things to make music, click here for
The Percussion Discussion -->> https://www.octaviasworld.com/blog/percussion-discussion

But it’s not only kids who like to make music with Boomwhackers!
Watch the HarvardTHUD ensemble perform a StarWars Medley:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcAliLg14Ks

18/04/2023

“Music can change the world, because it can change people. “
– Bono

Image Description: Octavia’s World author, Susan Calkins guest teaching in a Chinese school.

11/04/2023

Are you going to the National Association for Music Education Eastern Division Conference in Rochester, NY this week?

Come meet author/composer, Susan Calkins where she will present A Storytelling Approach to Teaching Music! The presentation will be this Thursday, April 13 at 3:45 p.m.

05/04/2023

These books are great hiding places! There’s so much to learn about music and Mr. Brio’s so smart, I’ll bet he’s read all of them. I just wish he wasn’t so afraid of spiders!

03/04/2023

Why A Spider? The idea for the Octavia stories came to me on my drive home from school. Learn the whole story here: https://www.octaviasworld.com/blog/93xjkgdil1w966a90z9fn87irn0tge

18/03/2023

Wow…Peruvian panpipes! They sounded so cool when Jaunita played them for the class. I wonder if I have enough breath to play them (?).

17/03/2023

Hmmm…I wonder if I could play this instrument.

17/03/2023

Wow...Peruvian Panpipes! I love the way it sounded when Juanita played it for the class. Do I have enough breath to play this instrument???

16/03/2023

Octavia discovers a new instrument. Now, if only she could play it!

11/02/2023

NOW AVAILABLE!
Kids will love reading and listening to the 3-episode series of "Octavia's Incredible Music Room Adventures."
Beautifully illustrated books and audiobooks (with original music and songs performed by live musicians).

08/12/2022

Hello Friends!

Two things I loved most about teaching music were composing original songs and creating stories to engage kids in learning. After years of sharing my stories and songs with students, I’ve published a unique series for music-loving kids, teachers, and parents. Kids will love reading about the adventures of Octavia, a precocious music room spider.

The books are available in beautifully illustrated print and enhanced audiobook formats featuring original, professionally recorded music. Additional Teacher Resource Packages (with sheet music, Orffestrations, discussion questions, vocabulary lists, handouts, and a video book) make the Octavia series a great addition to your music curriculum or classroom library. It’s also a perfect solution for your substitute lesson plans!

To buy a copy for your class or homeschool, please visit our webshop -->> https://www.octaviasworld.com/store-2

07/12/2022

Sign up for book news, teacher resources, author updates, and more.

Sign up for book news, teacher resources, author updates and more.

http://eepurl.com/ifsMTr

06/12/2022

📣Announcing More of Octavia’s Incredible Music Room Adventures! 📣

THE FRENCH HORN FIASCO featuring Octavia spider is out now 📯

When the Brass Tacks Quintet comes to the school to perform, Octavia gets trapped inside the French horn and ends up on stage with the musicians. Will she ever find her way out of this dangerous predicament and back to the safety of her nest in the music room?

Find out when you buy your copy today: https://www.octaviasworld.com/store-2/p/the-french-horn-fiasco-1

26/10/2022

I was recently asked, “Why on earth did you chose to write a children’s book series with a spider as the protagonist?” I could have chosen a cute little mouse, a cat, a dog or even a guinea pig. So, why a spider?

Learn about Octavia at https://www.octaviasworld.com/blog

20/10/2022

of recording music for the audiobook for our third episode, The French Horn Fiasco. Audiobook out now: https://www.octaviasworld.com/store-2/p/the-french-horn-fiasco

09/04/2022

Hey music teachers! Looking for new resources for your classroom, or materials to add to your syllabus? Donate to Octavia’s World Publishing’s Kickstarter campaign for various rewards, like hard and digital copies of books from our catalogue, sheet music, and Teacher Resource Packages that include lesson plans, quizzes, Orff sheet music, and more. You can choose to donate your rewards to a music program or school library of your choice. Visit the link in our bio to explore more rewards and to learn about our Kickstarter campaign! Visit www.octaviasworld.com to explore our full catalogue.

29/03/2022

"Tell Me a fact and I'll learn.
Tell me the truth and I'll believe.
Tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever."
— Indian Proverb

I created Octavia’s Incredible Music Room Adventures because I believe that stories and music have the power to convey ideas and information. Teaching children through storytelling engages them without ‘instructing’ them.

Check out my Kickstarter for Octavia's third adventure to find out about my stories: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2109963630/the-french-horn-fiascoillustrated-book-and-audiobook?ref=project_build

Please consider donating Kickstarter rewards - which you can explore below - to a school or library of your choice.

Thank you!
– Susan Calkins

P.S. Follow me on Instagram to hear an excerpt of "Sweet Dream, Little Bug," a lullaby composed by Susan Calkins for Octavia's World Publishing!

22/03/2022

Over the past two years, I’ve been busy writing, composing and producing a literature and music series for kids. It’s called Octavia’s Incredible Music Room Adventures.

So far, I’ve managed to publish the first two episodes, including illustrated books, audiobooks, original sheet music and Teacher Resource Packages, with no outside funding. The production of a printed book and audiobook (featuring original music performed by live musicians) requires a team of artists—a designer, an illustrator, musicians, a professional narrator and a sound engineer—which amounts to a sizable investment of time and money.

Now, the third episode, The French Horn Fiasco, is ready for production. But in order to pay for production costs, I am seeking your support. I just launched a campaign to fund the production of The French Horn Fiasco (link below), and I would so appreciate your support in bringing Octavia's third adventure to life. I’m offering a variety of rewards for donors, and you can always consider donating your reward to a school or library of your choice.

Check out the Octavia’s World catalogue at www.octaviasworld.com and please, feel free to pass the Kickstarter link on to anyone who might be interested. Thank you to all who've supported me along this journey!

- Susan Calkins, DMA (author)

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2109963630/the-french-horn-fiascoillustrated-book-and-audiobook

Octavia gets into trouble when she ends up inside a French horn at the Brass Quintet concert.

02/02/2022

The last 2+ years have been tough on music teachers. Octavia's World Publishing has resources that can make your lesson planning a little easier.

To accompany each engaging Octavia adventure story, Teacher Resource Packages (including printed books, downloadable PDFs, audiobooks, sheet music for songs, Orffestrations, handouts, quizzes, and more) will turn storytelling sessions into meaningful music lessons. Visit www.octaviasworld.com to purchase. 📚🎶

17/11/2021

Meet Imani | Imani is in fourth grade, and recently broke her leg during a soccer game. Since she missed a couple of music classes while she was getting her cast, she was a little behind the rest of her classmates when it came to learning her xylophone part for their new piece. So, Samir helped her practice and they became good friends in the process. While they were practicing, they spotted Octavia inside the xylophone! Samir was scared of Octavia, but Imani convinced him to keep an open mind, teaching him a song about how spiders can be quite charming! Swipe to hear Imani’s song about spiders. Visit www.octaviasworld.com to purchase the print and audio of “Secret of the Xylophone Dancer”, the accompanying Orff sheet music, lesson plans, and more resources for educators.

12/11/2021

In “Secrets of the Xylophone Dancer”, Octavia hides in the very instrument the students practice that day - a xylophone! This book is a great introduction to the instrument and syncopation. It’s a good review of musical terms like ‘bass’, ‘alto’, and ‘octave’, and features two songs – “Octavia Has Eight Legs” and “Spiders Can Be Scary.” Print and audio versions of “Secrets of the Xylophone Dancer” and its accompanying sheet music are available for purchase as www.octaviasworld.com.

07/11/2021

Spiders can be quite charming - especially if they can sing and dance like Octavia! In the second book of the Octavia’s Incredible Music Room Adventures Series - “The Secret of the Xylophone Dancer”- students Imani and Sami are practicing xylophones in the music room when they discover a dancing spider who keeps the beat on all eight feet. They decide to keep it a secret.

This book is a great introduction to the xylophone and syncopation, and is a helpful review of musical terms like ‘bass’, ‘alto’, and ‘octave’. It also features two songs – “Spiders Can Be Scary” and “Octavia Has Eight Legs”. Print and audio versions of the book, its accompanying sheet music, and a Teacher Resource package that includes print, audio, visual, and lesson materials to go along with the book are available for purchase as www.octaviasworld.com.

04/11/2021

An unlikely friendship forms between Octavia the spider and students Imani and Samir in “Secrets of the Xylophone Dancer” as they all dance to xylophone music. This book is a great introduction to the xylophone and syncopation, and is a great review of musical terms like ‘bass’, ‘alto’, and ‘octave’. It also features two songs – “Octavia Has Eight Legs” and “Spiders Can Be Scary.” Print and audio versions of “Secrets of the Xylophone Dancer” and its accompanying sheet music are available for purchase as www.octaviasworld.com (link in our bio).

02/11/2021

🎶 Grab a marimba, djembe or xylophone! 🎶

Octavia’s World books teach students about music and instruments from all over the world and feature multicultural characters.

The first book in the series, “88 Reasons to Stay Out of the Piano”, is a fun introduction to the inner workings of the piano and basic conducting. It also features two songs – “Rhythms of Africa” and “Just A Little Creature”. Sheet music and a Teacher Resource Package that includes print, audio, visual, and lesson materials to go along with the book is available for purchase at www.octaviasworld.com

26/10/2021

“The Secret of the Xylophone Dancer” is a great introduction to the xylophone and syncopation, and is a great review of musical terms like ‘bass’, ‘alto’, and ‘octave’. It also features two songs – “Octavia Has Eight Legs” and “Spiders Can Be Scary.” Print and audio versions of “Secrets of the Xylophone Dancer” and its accompanying sheet music are available for purchase at www.octaviasworld.com .

20/10/2021

Imagine if you could climb inside of a piano! In “88 Reasons to Stay Out of the Piano” students follow Octavia into the piano where she learns about the hammers and strings that make the piano sing! Sheet music and a teacher package that includes print, audio, visual, and lesson materials to go along with the book is available for purchase at www.octaviasworld.com.

13/10/2021

The third Octavia’s World book – “The French Horn Fiasco” - is in the making! Here are some initial sketches by our wonderful illustrator Robin Baird Lewis. Coming in 2022…

Octavia’s World books teach students about music and instruments from all over the world and feature multicultural characters. Visit www.octaviasworld.com to purchase the first two books in the Octavia’s World series (print and audio books), the accompanying Orff sheet music, lesson plans, and more resources for educators.