Second Fiddle

Second Fiddle by Rosanne Parry. Random House, 2011

As a veteran of the "I can't hear you practicing" skirmishes,  I am heartened by stories of young people, devoting themselves to music (and practice) which this lovely book cover promises.  Band, orchestra and choir programs play a huge role in many teens' lives.  One of my students used to credit Virginia Euwer Wolff's The Mozart Season for inspiring her to All State success.
 
Parry begins her book with this cracking opening line: 

"If we had know it would eventually involve the KGB, the French National Police, and the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, we would have left that body in the river and called the Polizei like any normal German citizen; but we were Americans and addicted to solving other people's problems, so naturally, we got involved." 

This is a very cleverly imagined mystery, set in the distant past of 1990, in Berlin, not long after the Berlin Wall came down. Also, as promised, there is music.

Three girls have become friends by playing together in a string trio. Their music has linked them in friendship even though they come from different social worlds.  Giselle's father is the commanding general of the American Forces in Berlin and Vivian's mother is the U. S. consul general to West Berlin.  Jody's family lives in enlisted soldiers' quarters. Musically, Jody also plays second violin in the trio. As political change takes hold  in Germany, many American diplomatic and military families are preparing to leave Berlin. These girls will probably not see each other again.

Their apprehension worsens when they learn their music teacher will not be able to take them to a music competition in Paris,  This is a blow after all their practice and preparation. On their way home from their last lesson, they decide to cross into the East Berlin to console themselves with some gelato.  The ease of their crossing is still somewhat unnerving as this used to be enemy territory.  While there, they witness a terrible crime against a Soviet soldier and despite years of Cold War distrust, the three resolve to help him.  As they plan, Jody sees a way to help the soldier and also get to Paris so they can perform together, one last time.

Parry conveys a sense of what it is like to be part of a military family living overseas.  Despite frequent moves and her father's long work hours, Jody's family enjoys a sweet closeness. The author also captures the time and place perfectly.  One side of the Brandenburg Gate is prosperous and booming, the other side is poor and grim.   Parry inserts lovely detail such as the mouth-watering aroma from a Parisian crepe cart and the quiet interior of a church which puts the reader there, on the streets of Berlin and Paris. Her descriptions are so spot on, we can follow the action with a city map.

A useful and interesting author's note gives additional background on the division of Germany in 1945, the fall of the Berlin Wall and Eastern Europe's struggle to be free from the Soviet Union.

From Pachebel's Canon to Paris street musicians to Cold War intrigue, this book is a virtual vacation. I truly enjoyed the ride.  


Roseanne Parry Website

Harry Potter

Waves of Harry Potter nostalgia are washing over me this weekend. This lovely article "How J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter Saved Reading" By Norman Lebrecht in the Wall Street Journal today tributes the school library for introducing the book to his family.

My family experience traces the phenomenon to the school library. Our youngest daughter brought home a copy around year four, when she was 9. Her elder sisters commandeered it and insisted that the parents read as well. What Ms. Rowling achieved—long before Warner Bros. adapted her work into films, the last of which will be released next week—was a children-led read-in that crossed all age barriers, uniting families in a primal fireside act of sharing an unfolding story, page by page.

I remember that summer when I started reading Sorceror's Stone with entling no. 3. After two afternoons of reading aloud, together, she took the book upstairs and finished it on her own and pronounced it a grand read. I credit JK Rowling with her reading fluency to this day.

I was very fortunate at the start of my school librarian career. My first year as a school librarian saw the stampede for books about the Titanic, thanks to the movie. At that point we only had Exploring the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard and a picture book biography about Molly Brown, Heroine of the Titanic by Elaine Landau.  Publishers soon got up to speed. (I remember the almost mele at the Little Brown booth for Inside the Titanic.)

Then there was Harry, wonderful Harry. I met a former student, not long ago, who recalled that I handed him a copy of the first book and he became a reader from that day forward. Rowling's books made every librarian look good as children clamored for the books.

As I look forward to the final film chapter of Harry's story on Friday I am reminded of how exciting it was to anticipate the very first movie along with my students. Seeing photo stills of Hogwarts with the floating candles in the great hall was thrilling. As the end of his film journey is at hand, I am cheered to see the books still being checked out by a new generation of readers in school libraries today. I am so happy the my family and I were there for the first grand ride.

Old MacDonald has a farm, EE-I-EE-I-O

In the spirit of Old McDonald and onomatopoeia sound effects.
 

Gobble Gobble Moooooo Tractor Book by Jez Alborough. Kane Miller, 2010

Jez Alborough's usual cast of animals characters are trying to hitch a ride on a tractor driven by Sheep.  Farmer Dougal hears the all noise and jumps out of bed to see what is going on. All he sees is his tractor sitting in place and animals grazing quietly, nearby.  After he returns to bed, the animals are ready to ride again.  The story reminded me of Duck on a Bike by David Shannon -- animals and vehicles.  As a read aloud, there are animal sounds to make.  The illustrations are in Alborough's comic style.  I will say that the toothy grin of the sheep is a little unnerving.

Chicken, Chicken, Duck by Nadia Krilanovich, Tricycle, 2011

Farm yard animals quack, baa, cluck, maa, squeek, meow and woof.  As the pages turn, the animals seem to be cheerfully jumbled up together. It is not until the last two page spread that their goal is revealed.  Krilanovich paints with lovely texture and pattens.  Her chickens are especially beautiful.  The book plays with the Duck Duck Goose game chant, adding in animal sounds. 


Dancing Feet! by Lindsey Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown, Knopf, 2010

Dancing is just plain fun for everyone.  Dancing ladybugs go Tippity! Tippity!, elephants go Stompity! Stompity!, ducks' feet go Slappity! Slappity! and so on, with insects and lizards and animals of all sizes dancing up a storm.  Nice rhythm and rhyme swing the text. It would make an excellent storytime read-aloud with lots of opportunities for audience participation.  Marc Brown's collage illustrations pop with color and texture.  The simple shapes might inspire some young artists.  I am putting this one in my "have book, will travel" librarian's bag.

SYNC YA Literature into Your Earphones

2 Free Audiobook Downloads Each Week
June 23 - August 17, 2011

Teens and other readers of Young Adult Literature will have the opportunity to listen to bestselling titles and required reading classics this summer. Each week from June 23 - August 17, 2011, SYNC will offer two free audiobook downloads.

The audiobook pairings will include a popular YA title and a classic that connects with the YA title's theme and is likely to show up on a student's summer reading lists. For example, Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, the first book in a popular series with strong allusions to Romeo & Juliet, will be paired with Shakespeare's classic.

To find out when you can download titles to listen to on the run this summer, visit www.AudiobookSync.com or text syncya to 25827

SYNC Titles
Summer 2011

6/23/11 - 6/29/11
Shiver By Maggie Stiefvater
Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare

6/30/11-7/6/11
Little Brother by Cory Doctorow
The Trial by Franz Kafka

7/7/11-7/13/11
Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster

7/14/11-7/20/11
The Last Apprentice: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
Beowulf by Francis B. Gummere [Trans.]

7/21/11-7/27/11
Chanda's Secrets by Allan Stratton
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

7/28/11-8/3/11
Ashes, Ashes by Jo Treggiari
Rescue: Stories of Survival From Land and Sea by Dorcas S. Miller [Ed.]

8/4/11-8/10/11
Immortal by Gillian Shields
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

8/11/11-8/17/11
Storm Runners by Roland Smith
The Cay by Theodore Taylor

Pottermore

Pottermore.com
The registration page is very slow right now. I can only imagine that the site is getting hammered with requests. There is more (thanks to Sheila Ruth @Wands and Worlds for the information) at the Guardian

the fresh Potter material – to be unveiled later this year - already stretches to 18,000 words about the novels' characters, places and objects, with more to come. From Professor McGonagall's love for a Muggle as a young woman, to how the Dursleys met (Petunia was working in an office); from new information about Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff houses, to details about wand wood, Rowling's writing will be just one part of the richly interactive, free Pottermore.com website, which is intended to bring the Harry Potter storylines to interactive life for readers.

Nonfiction Monday: For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart

For the Love of Music: The remarkable  Story of Maria Anna Mozart by Elizabeth Rusch, paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Francher. Tricycle Press, 2011 (review copy provided by the publisher)

The CIP in this books shows the LC subject heading as "Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, Maria Anna Mozart, Reichsfrelin von, 1751-1829" aka Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang's sister. Rusch uses  the piano sonata form, which she describes before the story begins, to frame her story as Maria played them frequently.   Billed as Wonders of Nature! and Child Geniuses!, Maria and her younger brother, Wolfgang performed together across Europe.  The two spoke French and Italian and had rich imaginations.  A composer and prodigy in her own right, Maria noted down Wolfgang's compositions for him, before he could write.  When their father chose to focus on Wolfgang as a solo performer, Maria was left behind at home, a move that devastated her.  The siblings remained close though even after Maria's marriage and many of Wolfgang's compositions were dedicated to his sister.

Artists, Johnson and Francher use a collage of woven fabrics, rich brocades and embroidered satins, to bring the story to life. The textiles act as a canvas for the paintings and give them richness and depth. The paint is laid on thickly in places rendering a three dimensional feel to the figures.  The pianos are layered with  images of original hand written sheet music from the Mozart family collection.  I would love to see the original artwork for this book. 

A brief but complete bibliography  includes books, letters and documents and personal interviews.  An "encore" summary of Maria Anna Mozart's life fills out details of her story.  This book is beautifully executed in every way.
Bravi!

If Rocks Could Sing

If Rocks Could Sing: a discovered alphabet by Leslie McGuirk.  Tricycle Press, 2011 (review copy provided by publisher)

My inner school librarian is putting this book on my "must purchase" list.  The book is a happy tribute to every child who ever filled a box, sack, pail, or gym sock with a rock collection.
The ABC style book is wholly original and an imaginative delight.  Each page focuses on a rock in the shape of a letter of the alphabet.
A rock shaped like a lower case "e" illustrates "elephant" along with a rock that looks just like the head of an elephant, with an upraised trunk.  The two page spread for "o is for Ouch!" depicts a donut shaped "'o" rock with ouch depicted by a smooth oval stone "face" pitted with holes and grooves that look just like a face, grimacing.

I know I exclaimed or laughed out loud at some of the whimsical selections. McGuirk's interpretation of these amorphous shapes is a wonder because we see them too!  Her rocks are identified as fossiliferous sandstone and the geologic process that forms this kind of sedimentary rock is also described.  McGuirk began collecting these rocks on Florida beaches although she specifies that the letter "X" is from Maine.
This book has wide classroom applications from art teachers to science teachers.  It would perfectly pair with Byrd Baylor's classic Everybody needs a Rock. 

Gardens

Water Weed Wait by Edith Hope Fine and Angela Demos Halpin, illustraed by Colleen Madden. Tricycle, 2010  (review copy provided by the publisher)

School gardens are often started but tend to languish despite the best of intentions of teachers, students and parents.  This book might encourage a community to try again.
The children at the Pepper Lane Elementary are inspired by a visit from Miss Marigold, the garden lady to start a garden at their school. They work together with help from adults. Even Mr. Barkley, the school's cranky neighbor, lends his gardening expertise.  Building a garden is hard work.  Ground must be cleared and prepared then seeds are planted and watered.  It takes patience to wait for vegetables to grow and flowers to bloom but their efforts are rewarded and celebrated at the end.  Suggestions for starting a school garden are shared.


A Garden for Pig written by Kathryn K. Thursman, illustrated by Lindsay Ward, Kane Miller, 2010

Pig lives on an apple farm.  His owner feeds him every kind of apple delicacy but Pig is tired of apples and longs for the vegetables growing in a nearby garden.  When Pig manages to get into the garden he is in heaven.  He discovers a passion for squash.  When Mrs. Pippins discovers him in the garden, she secures him in his muddy pig pen and he cannot escape.  He prepares the ground in his pen for planting and "passes" the seeds from the squash he ate.  He patiently waits and before long has his own squash garden.   Thursman follows the story with two pages of organic gardening tips.  Illustrator, Ward's apple trees are filled with apples and text from apple recipes. Pig's method for planting his seeds is very...organic--to be sure.  THAT will get the kids attention!

Our Shadow Garden by Cherie Foster Golburn, art by the children of the Children's Cancer Hospital at M.D.Anderson Cancer Center. Bright Sky Press, 2011.
The Children's Art Project at M.D.Anderson Cancer Center funds programs for children who are cancer patients at the center.  The project has long been  known for its Christmas cards but has also branched out to beautiful stationary and gift items as well as cards for other holidays. This book is a compilation of artwork by forty-seven of those patients.

When a child's grandmother becomes ill with cancer, she cannot work in her garden any more.  Told in the first person, the child and "Poppa" work to revamp Nana's garden. The two of them create a shadow garden that can be enjoyed in the evening.  Soft lights are hung in the trees and flowers that bloom in the cool of the evening are added to the beds. The flowers' fragrances waft through the air.  Animals that only come out in the evening visit the garden.  A well placed bench provides a spot to rest and to listen. The creation of the garden gives the child and Poppa a focus and way to contribute to their loved one's recovery.

A glossary of plant and garden terms (like diurnal  and germinate) is included along with a list of gardening websites. Information on planning a shadow garden appear in sidebars on the pages along with specific information about shadow garden plants.  Traditions of planting by the phases of the moon are explained also. Golburn is a certified Texas Master Gardener and is knowledgeable about her subject.  Gardens have a healing power. More than just a "gift" book, the content is useful to gardeners and families who are dealing with cancer.

Nonfiction Monday: Jimi Sounds Like A Rainbow: a story of the Young Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Sounds Like A Rainbow: a story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe. Clarion, 2010.  (review copy provided by the publisher)

When I mentioned there was a children's book about Hendrix to the teacher dressed like Jimi Hendrix for our "dress like a rock star" day at school a few weeks ago, everyone within earshot was stunned.
"A book for kids?"
The story of Hendrix's death has overshadowed his music. When one of the children asked the teacher if he was dressed as Michael Jackson, I wondered if any children at the school had even heard of Hendrix. 

Golio tells Hendrix's story with poetic language and imagery. 

With every sound, a color
glowed in Jimmy's mind
Blue was the whoosh of cool water splashing over rocks.
Orange and red, the crackling of a campfire.
Green, the rustle of a thousand leaves.

Did Jimmy really see the world in this way or is this poetic license?  This feels researched and informed  thanks to the extensive list of research sources,  the discography of music and videos, and website list included at the end.

Golio imparts a great deal of information about Hendrix's life without resorting to a dry narration of facts. We understand there is no mother in the boy's life through the descriptions of his relationship with his father.

At night, he'd listen to Dad croon along with
gospel, jazz or blues reconrds on the old
phonograph. A song by Muddy Waters--with
its wailing guitar and harmonica--set off
fireworks in his mind.

Jimmy was fascinated with all kinds of sound and his imagination saw colors in the noises and rhythms of the city and nature. The boy was also an artist, often sketching and painting.  A self-taught guitarist, his music took off in a whole new direction when he acquired an electric guitar and discovered how amps and guitar strings could be used to create a unique sounds.

Javaka Steptoe's artwork startles and compels the reader to look deeper into the pictures.  His illustrator's note describes his process of delving into the music and the neighborhood of Jimmy's childhood. For his canvas, he used plywood from the Seattle (Hendrix's childhood home) RE Store, an emporium of salvaged and reclaimed building materials.  These pictures are vibrant collages of plywood and paint and photo prints.  The rough texture and grain of the plywood plays under paint that is a translucent wash in some areas and a thick layer in others. On the last, two-page, vertical spread, Steptoe's boyish Jimmy evolves into Jimi and the final iconic image of Hendrix from posters and album covers,  He renders the musician in purple (Purple Haze?)

The author addresses Hendrix's death honestly and in a straight forward manner in the author's note. He focuses on substance abuse and addiction as a disease that people can recover from with help.  He draws on his own years as a counselor in the discussion and points to several websites that help families and children understand the issue and find assistance.  His comments would be a comfort and useful to young people who are facing similar problems themselves or in their family.

Nonfiction Monday: Before There Was Mozart

Before There Was Mozart: The Story of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome, Schwartz & Wade, 2011.

Joseph Boulogne was born in the West Indies in 1745.  His mother was a slave on his white father's plantation.  Cherished by his parents, he was educated and taught music from an early age. Joseph was extremely gifted, excelling at everything he tried.

When his father returned to France, Joseph and his mother accompanied him. Joseph was thrust into a world that did not accept him as a person of color. His talent was unmistakable though and he earned a place in the king's court as soloist, conductor and composer, even inspiring a young Mozart with his genius.  He was also a master swordsman, a fact that intrigued the elementary music classes where we shared this book..

James Ransome drenches the paintings with sunlight and tropical color in Joseph's early island years.  Later in France, the richness of  the French court glows on the pages.

The Ransomes provide a wonderful opportunity here to learn of a less well known musician and his contributions to the world of classical music.