NEW YORK ā The latest picture book collaboration between Julie Andrews and daughter Emma Walton Hamilton was inspired by an unusual musical performance in Spain.
Abrams Children's Books announced Monday that āThe Enchanted Symphonyā will be published Sept. 12. Andrews and Walton Hamilton thought of the book during the first year of the pandemic, when they learned of āConcert for the Biocene,ā in which a string quartet played in front of thousands ā of plants, one for each seat at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu.
Recommended Videos
āThe Enchanted Symphonyā is a āhopeful fairy tale,ā according to Abrams. It's set in a village ābeset by a mysterious fog,ā but revived by a āboy's simple melody.ā
āWhile the fog in our book evokes our pandemic experience, it also symbolizes something larger: the creeping and countless distractions that prevent us from appreciating what truly matters most in life," Andrews and Walton Hamilton said in a statement.
āFor us, itās family, community, nature, and the arts that provide true beauty and meaning,ā they said.
Andrews and her daughter have worked together on numerous other books, including the āThe Very Fairy Princessā series and āThe First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi,ā based on the famous song from āThe Sound of Music.ā They also plan a followup to āThe Enchanted Symphony.ā