Review by Booklist Review
One is never too old to realize a dream. As a young child, Elva overhears violin music at a garden party, and it stirs a desire in her to make beautiful music. Her parents say no to a violin of her own, so she pretends to play, becoming the violin virtuoso she longs to be, until she grows up and her aspirations begin to dim. Her latent yearning briefly surfaces throughout her life whenever she hears music, but it isn't until she is an old woman that she finally decides to, literally, take matters into her own hands. Older readers and adults may take away more from this ultimately joyful story than young children, but the theme is an important one for all ages: it is up to you to make your dreams come true. Charming, softly-colored watercolor-and-ink illustrations follow a dreamy Elva growing up, moving away, and keeping busy with her career. However, it is when she finally learns to make her own music that she finds total contentment. An endearing tale of an ambition fulfilled.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Elva, a girl with an upturned nose whose hair is never quite tidy, hears a neighbor's enchanting music through the hedge and asks her parents for a violin. Ray's (Go to Sleep, Little Farm) prose softens their refusal by giving it lilt and rhythm: "She asked them both. She asked with please. But they hadn't heard what Elva heard. And they said no." Elva, undeterred, continues to dream. She grows up, works, loves her dog, grows gray-and buys, at last, a violin. Ray's story is not a fairy tale-Elva never masters the instrument-but Tusa's (Marlene, Marlene, Queen of Mean) image of the earnest woman standing amid much smaller child students at their first recital has a deep sweetness. Quiet humor (Elva's dog lying belly-up on the floor, defeated by his mistress's terrible intonation) provides a tender accompaniment to this meditation on fulfilling one's dreams. The last spread, in which Elva soars into the air with her violin, borne aloft on strains of music, offers a vision of the only kind of success that really matters. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-As a young girl, Elva yearns for a violin. She pretends to play, improvising with a tennis racket and a tree branch. She rehearses for imaginary recitals with a toothbrush in front of the bathroom mirror. At school, she enlivens blackboard math lessons with treble clefs and musical notation. Elva never outgrows her love for the instrument, and as an adult she wistfully "[keeps] imagining what might have been." In her later years, after a lifetime of longing, she buys herself a violin. Tusa's delicate watercolor and ink illustrations show the woman on a busy city sidewalk, clutching her new instrument in a joyful embrace, as the sunshine casts a spotlight on her. With practice, patience, and perseverance, Elva learns to create sweet music. This charming book artfully and evocatively explores the joy that comes from following your dreams.-Linda Ludke, London Public Library, Ontario, Canada (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Little Elva desperately wants a violin, but her parents won't buy her one. She improvises with a badminton racket and a leafy branch. Elva's preoccupation with music never goes away, but it's not until she's old that she buys herself a violin. Though the particulars don't have much child appeal, Elva's passion comes through with tenderness and humor in both text and pictures. (c) Copyright 2015. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A long-deferred dream of music comes true.The cover shows Elva in overalls, with a twig for a bow and a tennis racket standing in for the violin she covets. "Above the ruffle of talk and the rustle of dresses"all the language is simple and gorgeous"Elva heard music"; a violinist is playing at a garden party on the other side of the hedge. But when she asks her parents for a violin, they say no. So she pretends with whatever comes to hand and grows up, music always in her head. She gets a job and responsibilities and a dog, but she borrows records (vinyl LPs!this is a period piece) from the library and remembers. Her hair gone gray, she gets that violin at last, making music with the help of a teacher. The image of her at the teacher's recital, a tall, elderly grown-up among a throng of tiny children, is unabashedly adorable. Tusa's illustrations are cheery and absolutely full of life: Readers can almost hear the music Elva does. It's a lovely story of the pursuit of a dream delayed but not abandoned, but it may be the sort of book adults give to other adults. Though putting off a dream for decades is a foreign idea to most children, they should respond to the lilt of the words and the energy and charm of the pictures. (Picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
