Carnival of the Animals for kids: a movement-by-movement listening guide

Carnival of the Animals is a good first piece for kids who like short tracks. Each movement is a different animal, and each has its own sound. A child can listen to one, stop, and come back later. Nothing is lost.

Camille Saint-Saëns wrote it in 1886 as a joke for friends. He did not want most of it published while he lived. It came out after his death in 1921. The one exception was “The Swan,” which people already knew and loved.

The piece has 14 movements. This guide covers the ones kids remember best. If you want a plan for the first weeks of listening, read how to introduce kids to classical music. If your child likes matching instruments to characters, see the guide to Peter and the Wolf instruments.

Which instruments play which animal

Royal March of the Lion. The strings and two pianos play a heavy march. The pianos roar low in the bass. Ask your child to show how a lion walks.

Hens and Roosters. Pianos, violins, and a clarinet peck and cluck. The notes are short and repeat fast. Kids often start clucking along.

Wild Asses. Two pianos race up and down in very fast runs. The title in French means swift animals, so think of fast horses or donkeys running in a field.

Tortoises. The strings play a slow, heavy tune with the piano underneath. Saint-Saëns took a fast, famous dance tune, the can-can from an Offenbach opera, and slowed it down. Play a can-can recording first, then this one. Kids laugh when they hear the match.

The Elephant. The double bass plays a low, lumbering waltz. The piano taps out the beat. This is the best movement for showing how deep a double bass sounds.

Kangaroos. Two pianos play short notes with quiet gaps between them. The music hops, stops, and hops again. Kids can jump on the notes and freeze in the gaps.

Aquarium. Flutes, strings, and a celesta make a shimmering, floating sound. A celesta is a keyboard instrument that sounds like a music box. Play this one when a child needs a calm minute.

Personages with Long Ears. The violins swing between a high note and a low note. It sounds like a donkey braying. Saint-Saëns meant it as a joke about critics, but kids only need to hear the donkey.

The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods. A clarinet plays two soft notes, over and over, like a cuckoo calling from far away. The pianos play slow chords underneath. Ask your child to raise a hand each time the cuckoo calls.

Aviary. The flute flutters high above the strings. Compare it to the bird in Peter and the Wolf. Both birds are flutes.

Pianists. Here the pianos play scales that are a little stiff and a little wrong, like a student practicing. This one is a joke about piano lessons. Kids who take lessons tend to love it.

Fossils. A xylophone clacks out a tune that sounds like rattling bones. Saint-Saëns borrowed a theme from his own piece Danse Macabre. Other borrowed tunes pop up as well.

The Swan. A cello plays a long, smooth tune while two pianos ripple softly underneath. It is the only movement that is not a joke. It is a good one to end on, because it is quiet and slow.

Finale. The whole group returns and plays a fast, busy tune. Several animals make a short appearance. Listen for the donkeys.

How to listen with a child

Pick three or four movements for the first listen. The lion, the elephant, the kangaroos, and the swan sound different from each other. A child can tell them apart on the first try.

Say the title before each track. Then ask one question: “What animal do you hear?” Let the child guess before you give the answer. A wrong guess is fine. A child who guesses a bird for the aviary and a frog for the kangaroos is still listening for sounds.

Play a movement more than once. Kids learn by hearing the same sounds many times. Come back to the same three tracks over a week before you add new ones.

Games that build listening

Move like the animal. March for the lion. Sway for the elephant. Hop and freeze for the kangaroos. Glide with slow arms for the swan.

Hands up for the instrument. In the elephant movement, ask the child to point down when the double bass plays. In the cuckoo movement, ask for a hand up on each call.

Draw the sound. Give the child paper and crayons. Play “Aquarium” and ask for a picture. Then play “Kangaroos” and ask for a different one. Compare the lines. The aquarium picture usually has long, curved lines. The kangaroo picture has dots and jumps.

Slow and fast. Play “Tortoises” and then “Wild Asses.” Ask which is faster and which is slower. This teaches the idea of tempo without using the word.

Name the joke. Play “Pianists” and ask what is funny about it. Then ask if the child has ever practiced something over and over.

Things to know before you play it

The movements are short, but the whole piece is longer than many young children can sit through. Play it in pieces over several days.

Recordings differ. Some include a narrator who reads a poem for each animal, and some play the music with no words. Listen to a minute of a recording before you choose. A version with a narrator can help a child who needs a story. A version with no narrator lets the music speak for itself.

Some movements are harder for young kids than others. “Fossils” can sound odd on the first listen. “Pianists” may seem like a mistake until a child learns it is a joke. Skip any movement that does not work and try it again in a few months.

What to try next

For a child who asks what each instrument is called, try The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten. It introduces the instrument families one by one, using a single tune by Henry Purcell.