Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Greene makes classical music energetically inviting in this picture book that describes a night at the symphony. A black-haired, pale-skinned adult and two children with similar characteristics excitedly find their seats in the concert hall as the musicians sit onstage. Then the magic begins. Rhymes have a snappy beat as Greene traces the concert's progression: "Notes ascend--swoop and chase!/ They curl, unfurl, swirl round this place!/ Like a choir blending fine,/ a symphony! So divine!" Sanchez creates richly colored digital illustrations in an animation-esque style, featuring lissome, smartly dressed instrument players with differing abilities, religions, and skin tones against quickly shifting spreads: the strings float through the night sky on golden threads, the woodwinds conjure a verdant, idyllic forest spread. This visit to the symphony evokes Fantasia in its immersive blend of music and movement through dreamlike scenes. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2--Like a 21st-century update of Lloyd Moss's virtuoso Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, this really is a magical, musical book. Musicians of all skin colors and all manner of formal dress, from tux to hijab, chime in from first tune-up to last fabulous note. As the notes crescendo, the entire stage gives way to a dreamscape in electrifying colors of soaring, grooving, intensely focused players, from strings to wind instruments and plenty of percussion. "Listen to those brilliant players building lush harmonic layers. Notes go soaring like an eagle. How majestic! Royal. Regal." The motion of the text plunges readers forward, ever forward, with musicians who are animated, diverse, rapt, and focused. The text at last peaks: "The tempo slows, now more subdued. How unique, each movement's mood. It's like a magic music potion--sounds excite, stir up emotion." The notes fade to loud calls from the crowd: "Bravo! Encore!" VERDICT This is no lullaby--this story sings. Share this with children before first concerts, a primer on orchestras, or even just a course on tuneful collaboration.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A symphony soars in rhyming couplets. Music lover Greene has created a graceful poem to introduce young readers and listeners to all the sounds and sections of a symphony orchestra. She opens, as a concert would, with the entrance of the musicians, the tuning, and the appearance of the conductor. "Applause! A pause. / Then, instruments as one… // …all SING." (This page turn is particularly artful.) The instruments are appropriately presented and grouped: first strings, then brass, woodwinds, double-reed instruments, percussion, and piano. Italicized musical terms like crescendo, glissando, allegro, and spiccato are gracefully woven into the verse, then defined in a short closing glossary. The poet's rhythm and rhyme also sing, her metaphors add richness, and alliteration makes these lines a delight to read aloud. "French horns, trumpets, tubas blow / with lips abuzzzz and great gusto!" One early misstep aside--the oboe's tuning A is usually much longer than a "chirp"--this is a well-pitched composition. Sanchez's gently humorous animation-style spreads suggest a 21st-century Fantasia with a chubby, White Toscanini-like conductor and a highly diverse set of instrumentalists whose playing moves the audience out of the concert hall and into a variety of settings. Even the endpapers support the theme with musical symbols and a golden trumpet. There are many other introductions-to-the-orchestra titles out there, but few have such charm. Pleasing to the eye and ear. (Informational picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
