Music and Book pairings

I.
Tomorrow we're performing a narration of Ferdinand (the delightful children's story about a bull who doesn't want to get trapped in society's expectations that he follow a traditional career path and would rather get stoned on flowers and look at pretty ladies) set to the music of Bizet's Carmen (the delightful adult opera about how if you give the lead role to a mezzo-soprano, lots of people will die.) It actually works pretty well, although the whole thing, inexplicably, ends with the "weak" cadence in the Toreador song instead of the final "strong" cadence which would make more sense. Maybe the arranger was afraid of the Bizet estate coming after him if he copied too directly.

This made me wonder what other story books could be narrated in front of an orchestra and which famous operas ought to be paired with them.

Story: Are You My Mother? (P.D. Eastman)
Opera: Oedipus Rex (Stravinsky)

Story: Where the Wild Things Are
Opera: Abduction from the Seraglio

Story: The Giving Tree
Opera: Fidelio

There have to be some more obvious ones, but I can't think of any in my pit stupor. Once I'm out from underneath the stage and get some fresh air I'll try to come up with some more.

II.
The plan to take the boys to Toronto is up and running. James and Owen have summarized it thus: "We're going to live in a hotel and sleep on the floor and order pizza and maybe go swimming. Also, we're going to see dinosaur bones and maybe climb to the top of the big tower." That's mostly true, although I'm not sure if it's worth it to do the CN tower thing or not. Does anyone have any thoughts or recommendations about the zoo, the waterfront, or Casa Loma? We are strongly considering the Science Centre and the Royal Ontario Museum at this point, and I don't know how much we'd be able to squeeze in on top of those.

III.
Felix is saying "shh!" It's more of a "th" than a "sh" sound. And it's adorable. He puts his finger to his lips and whispers "Thh!!! Th!!! Dada!" I'm not the loud one, of course. Owen is the loud one. It amazes me how loud he can talk, and how he can do it all day long. Also, he's been flipping out whenever someone holds Felix. If you have Felix on your lap, he needs to burrow in between the two of you. We've had to institute an "only two people in the chair at a time" policy. James, meanwhile, just desperately wants someone to take a picture of him mid-sneeze, but he can never seem to conjure one up when the camera is out.