Twelve-year-old Terry, star soloist in his church choir, considers doing something else with his time when he finds his dream dog, who turns out to be expert at learning and performing tricks.
When everyone in the barnyard is too busy to listen to young Peter Pig's song, he leaves in search of a sympathetic soul, and finds one in a friendly frog.
When Alfredo, a twelve-year-old choir boy in eighteenth-century Italy, loses his family in a fire, he goes to live with Uncle Giorgio, who he discovers is a sorcerer in control of the fires of Mt. Etna with sinister plans for his nephew.
Profiles the human voice as an instrument, describes skills of a good singer, contains quotations from singers, and includes a quiz designed to help readers decide if singing is right for them.
When a case of chicken measles steals the voice of the blue-headed rooster who used to crow all day long, his friend, a plain brown hen, brings musicians to remind him to sing and save him from becoming "quiet rooster stew.".
During the dog days of summer, Sophie Dog hears about a yodeling contest for which the grand prize is a trip to a yodeling school in the Swiss Alps, and she convinces her best friend, Louise, to enter with her. Includes facts about dogs.
