Cleaver the Beaver is now available with new features!

I’m so excited to finally release to you “Mister Bo Beaver” formerly known as Cleaver the Beaver from the Piano Safari method!

We’ve made some fun changes!

But we’ve made some changes to the piece that I think you’ll like:

  • We’ve add a second verse so you can see what happens after Mister Bo Beaver starts charging a toll for his bridge!
  • We’ve improved the teacher duet to be more fun, but still easy to play.
  • We’ve changed the title. See below.
  • We’ve added a really cool cover.
  • It has become the inspiration for a new set of Reading and Rote pieces and this is the first of a set of 3 really fun ones about woodland creatures!

Why the change in title? What was the controversy?

Cleaver the Beaver is now available as Mister Bo Beaver - a Reading and Rote teaching piece on ComposeCreate.com | #rote #roteteaching #animal #music #piano #recital #teacher #teachingA few months ago, I was devastated to learn that a reviewer of the Piano Safari method (where Cleaver the Beaver was first located) had misunderstood the name “Cleaver” the Beaver. Evidently, “Cleaver” is not a common surname in the United Kingdom, so I guess it might be somewhat natural for him to think that the word cleaver would refer to a chopping mechanism of butchers. Regardless, he at the least questioned the use of the word.

While you gasp at the thought that anyone could possibly think that I would write a piece for children about such a thing, I’ll go ahead and tell you that it caused quite a ruckus on the Facebook group. So many of you and even others that didn’t even know about the piece came to my rescue and declared the review quite absurd. And many of you declared how your students loved the piece!

Thank you for that. Those of you who know me and know the ComposeCreate philosophy know that I love children and am passionate about understanding them. I would never write anything that I thought was so icky as to refer to a meat cleaver.

Why the excitement?

All that aside…I have had many teachers (even before the controversy) tell me that this piece is so popular with their students that they’d love to see it as a studio licensed piece. This is because the studio license allows you buy it once and then use it and print it for as many students as you are ever directly teaching!

What is the bonus?

Like we did with the catchy I Want Some Water and Lumbering King, we are giving you two mp3 recordings of the piece with lyrics (a slow and fast track)! You have permission to send these to your students so that they can remember what the piece sounds like during the week.

Watch and Listen to Mister Bo Beaver (formerly Cleaver the Beaver):

What does my purchase include?

  • Piano solo(s) with lyrics
  • Teacher duet on the same page
  • Cover (we always include that)
  • Audio recordings (mp3s) at a fast and slow tempo that you can send to your students that you teach the piece.

Plus, because this piece is a studio license, you can use it for ALL the students that you  directly teach every year you are teaching. That’s like getting an unlimited supply of a piece of Music Kids Love® for less than $10!

More Exciting Rote and Reading® collections:

7 thoughts on “Cleaver the Beaver is now available with new features!”

  1. Honesty – the first thing I thought of when I saw this title was the Cleaver family on the TV show “Leave it to Beaver”. I don’t know if you’re familiar with it but there is nothing in the world more gentle and family oriented than that old show (probably from the 1950’s!!). Sorry that anyone’s mind would even go THERE!! Thank you again for all you do to help us with our day-to-day teaching responsibilities.

  2. Robin Steinweg

    Oh my. Cleaver the Beaver was such a clever play on the sweet little boy, Beaver Cleaver (Leave it to Beaver) from the late 50s-early 60s. You have such a great, playful sense of humor, Wendy. Sigh. The English language is full of words with more than one meaning. A beaver’s teeth naturally do lots of damage to trees… um, that’s what they were designed for! So I don’t get why it could be an issue.

    I missed out on the controversy you went through, or I’d have been right there saying, “Oh for pity’s sake, people! It’s a beaver, not a butcher!”

    But I’ve gotta say, you did a super job of processing it all, and Bo Beaver is an adorable name. And it’s an adorable song, as usual!!!!!

  3. Esther Chung Marks

    Aww…glad it all spawned a creative moment. And your little girl is precious!! ????

  4. Yes, it was all rather ridiculous. And I did say something like, “For goodness sake, it’s the beaver’s name!” But alas, it was all for the good of the piece I suppose. However, I’m totally in favor of teachers who have the original teaching it as Cleaver the Beaver if they like that better. Kids get it! 😉

  5. Dorothy Menke Smith

    Every student of mine who has learned Beaver the Cleaver loves it and the Guild judge will hear it least 8 times on Monday!

  6. Oh wow! That’s awesome! Thank you so much for giving it to so many of your students, Dorothy!

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