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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | Inserts/Illus | f/c (digital) (accordion fold) |
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| Stephen T. Johnson, Author | | Stephen T. Johnson, Illustrated by |
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| |  | About the BookBacklistProduct Images “Bright, colorful illustrations and short, catchy rhymes… in an accessible, knowledgeable format [that] is a solid success.” —School Library Journal
“From classical to pop, an exploration of ten Western musical genres…The child audience of readers, listeners, and players will find this a rich resource to explore.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Caldecott Honor winner and two-time New York Times best illustrator of the year author and illustrator Stephen T. Johnson’s lyrical journey of sounds, styles, and rhythms culminate in this highly imaginative and beautifully orchestrated celebration of music.
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| Experience ten different types of music—classical, Latin, jazz, country, heavy metal, hip-hop, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, electronica, pop, and a surprise finale. Unfolding through an inventive accordion form is a masterful concert of playfully crafted singsong text in harmony with delightfully whimsical art. On the reverse side is a rich, in-depth glossary for each genre, sure to be a wonderful resource for all ages.
Stephen T. Johnson is well known for his innovate children’s books and glorious public artwork and his dynamic performance in (with) Music is… will leave you wanting an encore!
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| JOHNSON, Stephen T. Music Is....illus. by Stephen T. Johnson. 52p. S. & S./Paula Wiseman Bks. Oct. 2020. Tr $24.99. ISBN 9781416999508.
PreS-Gr 4–This book blends bright, colorful illustrations and short, catchy rhymes with detailed information about musical styles. As Johnson explains in the author’s note, the text was inspired by an idea found in Langston Hughes’s 1954 book The First Book of Rhythms: “Your rhythm on this earth began first with the beat of your heart.” Johnson offers rhymes that could resonate with young readers. For example, the “Rhythm and Blues” section includes a stanza about the “back-to-school blues,” and “Rock and Roll” details a bouncing game of hopscotch. Johnson’s ambitious attempt to capture the artistry and history of these diverse musical styles in an accessible, knowledgeable format is a solid success. The literal through-line connecting the illustrations and narrative keeps the book flowing, and the careful placement of supplementary information about each musical style allows this text to be read in a variety of ways. Readers can travel through the narrative without diving into the informational pages, or take a deeper read into one of the styles of music, practicing rhythms through the narrative and exploring factual information, before moving onto another style. VERDICT Purchase this colorful invitation into music for classroom and library collections.
–Jen McConnel, Queen’s Univ., Ont.
— School Library Journal, September 2020
From classical to pop, an exploration of 10 Western musical genres with poetic words, images, and short essays.
Classical, Latin, jazz, country, heavy metal, hip-hop, rock ’n’ roll, rhythm and blues, and electronic are the genres amateur musician and award-winning illustrator Johnson has chosen to present. This unusually formatted book has a concertina binding, with one long piece of cardstock folded accordion style. It reads from the front like a picture book. Each spread presents a single genre in both words and pictures. Improvisation is a feature of many musical styles, the writer tells us. It’s also a good word for the poetic text, the scatlike syllables that convey the sounds, and the colors, shapes, and images on the pages. Even the simple text has a sonic verve, with its varied typography. Johnson’s descriptions work: Country is “poignant stories”; heavy metal is “roughened steel blazing a trail of light”; electronica is “liquid sound cascading over an endless sea.” Reading on the reverse side, each spread includes a couple of paragraphs offering extended description and history, a list of the usual instruments, six examples of pieces with their composers or performers, and a quote from someone in that musical world. Adult readers knowledgeable about one genre or another might argue about the choices, but the child audience of readers, listeners, and players will find this a rich resource to explore.
Appealing and informative for a broad range. (author’s note, acknowledgments, bibliography)
— Kirkus Reviews, STARRED, December 15, 2020
This book introduces readers to ten different musical genres accompanied with fanciful illustrations. Descriptions of each genre include examples of songs, composers, and the instruments commonly used and associated with each genre. The short descriptions are accompanied by sound phrasing that is representative of the rhythms of each type of music which would be fun to read aloud. Throughout the text and illustrations an orange line leads the reader to the next genre to discover and connect with the different types of music. This short book is supplemented with text by the author explaining how he hopes this book will encourage readers to explore and listen to sounds, rhythms, beats, and melodies not only from music, but from the environment as well. This book could be used to lead lessons on musical instruments, music history, and composers. Playing recordings of the songs listed as examples would be a nice way to help students identify the ten genres, understand the differences, and be able to identify music such as classical, hip-hop, or jazz.?Susan Black, Retired School Librarian, Arlee, MT
Recommended
— School Library Connection, October 2020
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| Stephen T. Johnson is the creator of such well-known children’s books as My Little Red Toolbox, My Little Blue Robot, and Alphabet City, recipient of a Caldecott Honor, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, and a Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. His artwork can be found in permanent and public collections including the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and the DeKalb Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, New York. Stephen is a professor at the University of Kansas, and he lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
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