Category: Music

How It Happened

3/5/2019

Because by Mo Willems ill Ameber Ren

“ If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person"
Mister Rogers

Because is a word laden with possibility. Mo Willems explores a chain of cause and effect in his latest picture book Because.

Willems begins with Beethoven and traces the events that lead from his composition to a performance by an orchestra. He includes moments on this continuum that are deliberately planned: musicians who learn to play an instrument and practice until they become proficient. Then there are unexpected occurrences: due to illness there is an extra ticket available.

The result of this string of events is that the life of one girl is changed. She becomes a composer and conducts an orchestral performance of her composition.

And that night, someone heard her music and was changed.

Ren's illustrations are filled with many charming touches. The portrait of Beethoven hanging on the wall shows him glancing into the future at young Franz Schubert. A violinist practices in his home and on the side table is a photo of himself as a young boy with his first violin. A continuous golden musical ribbon weaves throughout the book, tying all the elements together. End papers featuring the score of Schubert's Symphony no. 8 in B-minor and Hilary Purrington's contemporary composition The Cold appropriately bookend the story.

This is how it happened:

I sitting with a teen and together we read this book. We considered how because happens in her life. Because she wanted to play a music instrument that was different from the instruments other members of her family play, she decided to try strings. Because she liked the sound and the shape, she decided to try the cello.
Because she played the cello with the orchestra in her school, she met another student studying the cello. Because they performed together, the two became best friends.

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: March 5, 2019 Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children ISBN: 978-1368019019

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Music! Music!

11/9/2018

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Khalida and the Most Beautiful Song by Amanda Moeckel

Khalida and the Most Beautiful Song is a tribute to the power of inspiration and determination. Khalida is awakened from slumber by a melody stirring inside her. This young pianist heads to the keyboard in search of the haunting tune. Time and time again she sits down to the piano to capture the music in her head. Repeatedly she is told "Not now."
Not at home. Not at school. Not at her music lesson.

When the melody returns to her mind during a visit to the park, she races toward the piano located on the park's grandstand. Khalida is determined to capture this song. She begins to play the music that has been welling up inside her.

Music flowed through her fingers, onto the keys, and into the air.

As her song fills the outdoor space, people notice. A rapt audience forms around the piano. They are drawn to the compelling melody, momentarily forgetting their cares. Khalida allows the music inside her to find expression, bringing joy to the performer and to the listeners.

Moeckel's evocative illustrations capture the story's essence. Cool muted lavenders and grays dominate each page. The song inside her is represented with swirling light-hued patterns that are superimposed on each scene. It is only when she begins to play her music that the rising lyrical designs burst into color: vibrant variegated reds and purples.

The song ripples around Khalida as she sleeps.

She searches for the opportunity to bring her inspiration to life.

The young musician brings the music inside her to life.

Meet Amanda

Amanda is a 2015 MFA graduate from the School of Visual Arts. In addition to illustrating children's books, she also teaches, works for editorial publications, accepts personal commissions, and maintains a pet portrait business.

View the video trailer for her dummy picture book Only Good Dreams, her thesis project for the MFA Illustration as Visual Essay program.

Book Trailer - "Only the Good Dreams" from Amanda Moeckel on Vimeo.

More Picture Books

Page Street Kids is a new publisher. The developing picture book collection contains charming stories with delightful art. Take a look at these titles including this review of Oliver: The Second -Largest Living Thing on Earth.

Copy provided by publisher.

Pub date: September 18, 2018 Publisher: Page Street Kids ISBN: 978-1624145797

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Ebony and Ivory

10/30/2018

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Blended by Sharon M. Draper

Is normal never being sure of what normal really is?

Eleven-year=old Isabella feels that she is constantly being pulled in different directions. Her life ping-pongs back and forth, as her parents share custody. She lives part-time with her black father, his girlfriend and her son. Alternate weeks are at the home of her white mother and future stepfather. Two different homes. Two different families. Every. Other. Week.
At dad's house, she is Isabella and practices her music on a grand piano. To mom she is Izzy and prepares for her upcoming recital on an electronic keyboard.
Then there are the Exchange Days, the dreaded moments when her two sets of parents meet at the mall and Izzy/Isabella must switch backpacks, lifestyles, and identities.
It's confusing.

Draper has fashioned a compelling portrait of a biracial girl living with conflict. In addition to the tension between her parents, Isabella faces racial hostilities: her best friend Imani discovers a noose in her locker. Who would do something like that? And why? On a shopping trip Imani and Izzy discover an exclusive dress shop. They are tailed by security and eventually asked to leave the store. Is it because of the color of their skins? Their young age? When her soon-to-be brother is accused of theft, things take a frightening turn. These encounters leave her shaken.

Blended combines questions of identity, racism, friendship, and family. Like a Sonatina and an old-time swing tune, Draper's novel for young readers hits all the right notes. Melody and harmony blend in one dazzling performance.

Listen Up

Izzy/Isabella prepares for the Pianopalooza by learning music composed in the eighteenth century. She also discovers a treasure trove of old boogie-woogie and blues numbers. Want to hear these two very different musical numbers?

Bumble Boogie, a 1946 version by Jack Fina of Flight of the Bumble Bee

Sonatina in C Major by Muzio Clementi 1752-1832

Additional Sharon M. Draper Books

Uncorrected copy provided by publisher

Pub date: October 30, 2018 Publisher: Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books ISBN: 978-1442495005

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In Our Hands

10/8/2018

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We’ve Got the Whole world in Our Hands by Rafael López

It begins with a multi-hued ball of string.
How far can it travel?

Follow this string as it sails across seas and continents, through day and night, meets creatures large and small, and into the hands of children throughout the world.

Rafael López interprets this traditional song with his distinctive artistic flair. Using a mixed media approach that incorporates a collage of found objects and cut paper with traditional watercolor and ink techniques as well as digital skills, he creates vibrant illustrations that capture the heart and soul of a world worth singing about.

The spherical motif echoes throughout the pages: sun, moon, snail shell, ball of string, hot air balloon, and ultimately, the planet earth. A celebration of the connections that we all share.
Glorious!

We've Got the Whole World in Our Hands features stunning art on every page.

String Along

What can you do with a ball of string? Try your hand at replicating the string game pictured in the book. These instructional videos can help you. Create a Cat’s Cradle with a friend. Jacob’s Ladder requires only one set of hands. However, it’s great fun to gather a couple of friends and create these fascinating string patterns.

Sing Along

López includes a printed copy of the lyrics and music for this well-known spiritual. View these children singing their interpretations of the classic song. Then expand the experience by helping youngsters create their own unique verses and movements. This activity can be adapted for children everywhere.