Nana Hannah's Piano
Kindergarten-Grade 3-"After school, when I want to be at softball practice, I have to sit down at the piano instead." The fact that the narrator's music teacher is grouchy and critical doesn't help, and his mother won't let him quit his lessons. What helps is Nana Hannah next door: her tango lessons, her twisted ankle, and, most importantly, her relaxed, no-pressure attitude. By the end of the story, the boy has blossomed naturally into a player-of both baseball and piano-and actually enjoys both. While not universally as appealing as Bottner's Bootsie Barker Bites (Putnam, 1992, which was helped by Peggy Rathmann's superlative artwork), this fresh story is nicely told and delivers its message without a lot of preaching. Bluthenthal has a light comic touch, a controlled graceful line, and a clear eye for color. Her nana looks like a cross between Olive Oyl and a Hilary Knight character. While the look of this book is a little young for kids old enough to have a problem like this, it is nevertheless an amusing take on a fairly common predicament.Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, ILCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.