Music for Little Mozarts: Plush Toy -- Pachelbel Penguin Cover Image

Music for Little Mozarts: Plush Toy -- Pachelbel Penguin: Piano Plush Toy

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Music for Little Mozarts: Plush Toy -- Pachelbel Penguin Cover Image

Music for Little Mozarts: Plush Toy -- Pachelbel Penguin: Piano Plush Toy

By Christine H. Barden, Gayle Kowalchyk, and E. L. Lancaster

Level: 2, 3 & 4

Item: 00-21230

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Description
Pachelbel Penguin learned about composing from studying the music of Johann Pachelbel. He sports an attractive white wig and carries a quill pen so he's ready at any moment to jot down his musical inspirations. He's a walking encyclopedia of musical history and is a friendly advisor to all his toy friends.

Pachelbel Penguin is a replica of the character first introduced in Lesson Book 2. Suggestions are made in the Lesson Book for integrating the animals into the lesson.

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Additional Details
Series: Music for Little Mozarts
Publisher: Alfred Music
UPC: 038081206448
SKU: 00-21230

More about this title

About the Authors

Christine H. Barden
Christine H. Barden is widely respected as an expert in early childhood music education. She co-authored Alfred's Music for Little Mozarts preschool piano method and maintains a private piano teaching practice in Reno, Nevada, where she instructs award-winning students in piano, composition, and Music for Little Mozarts classes. A San Francisco State University graduate with a degree in piano performance, she studied under Vladimir Brenner, the renowned piano soloist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra.

Barden's professional experience spans multiple continents and decades. She spent four years in Europe studying, performing, and teaching, and was among the first American educators to train with instructors from the Yamaha Music Foundation in Japan. She then served as a national staff member with Yamaha for 17 years, holding positions as Director of Curriculum and National Chief Instructor for the Yamaha Music Education System.

As a sought-after clinician, Barden has conducted workshops for piano teachers at conferences across the United States, England, Norway, and Singapore. Her published works with Alfred include the Music for Little Mozarts course and several piano solo compositions, notably "Etude Toccata," which was selected as a National Federation of Music Clubs Junior Festival piece.
Gayle Kowalchyk
Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk is a piano instructor and pedagogy specialist at California State University, Northridge, where she teaches class piano, individual piano, and piano pedagogy courses. She earned her bachelor's degree in piano performance from Ohio University, a master's degree in piano performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University, and a doctorate in piano pedagogy from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Throughout her career, Dr. Kowalchyk has held faculty positions at Eastern Illinois University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and the University of Oklahoma. At Eastern Illinois, she coordinated the class piano program, directed the piano preparatory program, and taught graduate level piano pedagogy. During the summers from 1979 to 1982, she taught class piano and piano ensemble at the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. Her collaborative work with her husband, Dr. E. L. Lancaster, has produced over 300 educational piano publications, including the widely used Alfred's Premier Piano Course and Music for Little Mozarts.

As a clinician and adjudicator, Dr. Kowalchyk regularly presents at major conferences including the Music Teachers National Association convention, the Music Educators National Conference, the National Group Piano Symposium, the National Piano Teachers Institute, and the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. She and her husband operated an independent piano studio in Norman, Oklahoma from 1981 to 1996. Today, in addition to her teaching responsibilities, she serves as a clinician for Alfred Music in the Los Angeles area.
E. L. Lancaster
E. L. Lancaster is an adjunct piano faculty member at California State University, Northridge, and was formerly Executive Editor for Piano at Alfred Music. He earned degrees from Murray State University and the University of Illinois before completing his Ph.D. at Northwestern University. At the University of Oklahoma, where he served as Professor of Music from 1979 to 1998, Dr. Lancaster left a lasting mark on the field of piano pedagogy.

During his tenure at Oklahoma, Dr. Lancaster founded both the master's and doctoral programs in piano pedagogy in 1980. He supervised more than 50 doctoral dissertations and taught pre-college students through the Piano Pedagogy Laboratory Program, which integrated group and private instruction. His contributions earned him several prestigious teaching honors, including the Regents Award for Superior Teaching (1984), the Associated Distinguished Lectureship (1987), and the David Ross Boyd Professorship (1991). Between 1981 and 1996, he and his wife, Dr. Gayle Kowalchyk, also ran a thriving independent piano studio in Norman, Oklahoma.

Beyond academia, Dr. Lancaster has held significant leadership positions within the music education community. He served as National Chairman of Group Piano and National Conference Chair for MTNA in 2020, along with other leadership roles in the National Conference on Piano Pedagogy. His professional excellence earned him recognition as a Signature Sinfonian by Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia in 2013 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Murray State University in 2014.

Why we love this

Pachelbel Penguin bridges the gap between imaginative play and serious music learning. Young pianists in Lesson Book 2 and beyond have met this character in their studies, so the plush toy makes an abstract historical figure tangible and memorable. It's a clever way to reinforce that real composers had real habits, real workspaces, and real dedication to their craft.

What to expect

Pachelbel Penguin arrives dressed for the job: formal white wig in place, quill pen ready. There's something delightful about a penguin in 18th-century attire, and that touch of whimsy makes music history feel accessible rather than dusty. Students holding this toy are holding a conversation starter about composition, about how musicians capture their ideas, and about the real humans behind the pieces they're learning to play.

Who it's for

This plush toy belongs in the hands of students working through Music for Little Mozarts Lesson Book 2 or beyond. It transforms lessons by bringing a beloved character from the page into the studio, giving young pianists a visual reminder that composers were real people with creative routines. Teachers using the Music for Little Mozarts curriculum will find Pachelbel Penguin an effective way to deepen students' connection to music history while they're learning.

How to get the most out of it

  • Use the penguin as a visual aid during lessons on Baroque composers and counterpoint, grounding historical concepts in something tangible
  • Have students invent their own stories about Pachelbel Penguin's composing process to deepen their connection to the music in their books
  • Place the toy on the piano during practice at home as a friendly reminder that composers are real people, not distant figures

How to use it

Keep Pachelbel Penguin visible during lessons as students work through Lesson Book 2 and the subsequent levels. The Music for Little Mozarts curriculum itself provides suggestions for integrating the toy animals into instruction, so follow those cues to make the character a natural part of the learning experience. When a student reaches a piece inspired by Baroque music or encounters Pachelbel's harmonic language, having the penguin nearby strengthens the connection between the music on the page and the composer's world.

Skills your students will build

  • Understanding Baroque compositional techniques through character-based learning
  • Connecting music history to daily practice habits
  • Recognizing the human creativity behind canonical works

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