Violet's Music
Kindergarten-Grade 3--This is a jazzy story about an African-American girl who loves music. From the time she was a baby banging out rhythms with her rattle or a two-year-old making a horn to toot on or a kindergartner looking for other kids with the same passion, Violet played and sang, and hummed and thought about music all the time. Then "one day a few summers later," she finds Angel, Randy, and Juan, all of whom are kindred spirits, to jam with. And the best part is that every one of them knew that they would find one another. With an upbeat text that uses lots of sound words, this tale celebrates music as much as it applauds being true to what you love. Violet seems perfectly happy to keep on making music and looking for fellow musicians. She never gives up in either pursuit, and in the end is rewarded for her perseverance. Done in acrylics and collage, the lively illustrations seem to move on the page. Violet and her friends have round, smiling faces; elongated arms and legs; and play instruments that have a life and movement all their own. Pair this title with Judy Cox's My Family Plays Music (Holiday, 2003) or Lloyd Moss's Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin (S & S, 1995) and Music Is(Putnam, 2003) for a rousing storytime.--Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.