Text and art find a perfect pairing between two hard covers that stretch out to reveal a 10-foot, double-sided spread of popping colors, swirly lines, and infectious energy. Captured within is the story of two friends "who play together just like kids." They joyously romp through...
Thank the stars for all the women who never succumbed to 'you can't' and 'you're not allowed,' and the constant cacophony of insistent 'no's. Meet another such hero: drum dream girl. In spite of her strikingly diverse heritage – Chinese, African, and Cuban! – all her elders agree...
For the most magnificent experience, choose to go aural with a pitch-perfect quartet to narrate the four distinct stories that make up this stupendous new novel from award-winning Pam Muñoz Ryan. Then – in another reason to visit your local library often – make sure to at least...
Winner of the 2011 New Voices Award from innovative multi-culti press Lee & Low, journalist/new author Jennifer Torres’ Finding the Music hit shelves earlier this month. [In case you need the exact details, the original title was Live at the Cielito Lindo, the publisher is Children's Book Press – one...
Western children's songs and nursery rhymes with their upbeat tempo and easy rhythms often mask unpleasant, even frightening, scenarios: "Ring Around the Rosie" is widely considered to be a reference to England's 17th-century Great Plague, "Rock-a-bye, Baby" ends with a warning about the possibility of violent...
Dizzy Gillespie. Billie Holiday. Quincy Jones. Duke Ellington. They're all household names, right? The list goes on: Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and so many more. So why is Melba Doretta Liston, who not only played with, but also composed and arranged music...
That the film version of If I Stay is currently in production is reason enough to read the book before Hollywood leaves its indelible imprint too soon. Trust me: 99.9% of the time, the book is better. The intensity and ferocity that author Gayle Forman offers with...
Young Anton of Saint Petersburg, Russia begins and ends his day with music ...
The words "A Novel" adorn the top of the cover of Chopsticks – but that's definitely a debatable label. No such limits necessary here! A hybrid creation by novelist/short story writer Jessica Anthony and book designer/creative director (for Farrar, Straus, Giroux, who is not Chopsticks' publisher, in case you...
How wrenchingly ironic that this was the book I happened to be reading when I learned of a sudden death in our family. On the flight, in the car, during the rare moments of aloneness over the last four days, Kazuo Ishiguro's stories that spoke...
Confession first: even though I'm posting after the fact, reading this was a little birthday present to myself. The older I get, oh how I loooovvvvve the manga that much more! Must be an age-escapist thing! The Friend has shockingly confessed that he's the mastermind behind...
Kanna, Otcho, and Manjome are all in the same room – you could say even on the same side. The final words from Manjome leave everyone speechless: "Please ...
If you're an American of a certain age, and went to public school when music class was still considered relevant and mandatory, you'll most likely recognize this historical song. Here's the link to legendary folk singer Pete Seeger's rendition. "What's going on here?" the front book...
Growing up in Seattle, Washington, young Jimi Hendrix first made music on a one-string ukulele. He drew, he told funny stories, he hung out at the local record store with his friends "who never teased him about his worn-out clothes and wild hair ...
