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.  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Sonatina in C Major by Muzio Clementi  1752-1832

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! ​

A bilingual English/Spanish edition is also available.

I've got a signed copy in my hands. Gracias Rafael López