Angela Kucharski- "This Jazz Man"

“This Jazz Man” is by Karen Ehrhardt. The plot of the book has nine characters and each gets a page and a little description, that also rhymes which is always fun to kids! The characters that get included are a singer, tap dancer, conguero, pianist, saxophonist, drummer, trumpeter, stride pianist, and bassist. Each page talks a little about what the instrument does and at the end they all combine together to create a jazz band and create music. This book can teach kids a lot. First off it introduces kids to instruments and gives them an idea of what they do in the band. Also all of the musicians that are in the book are based off of real musicians! So at the end of the book it has descriptions of each musician with a little back story. This is important for kids to learn because not many kids learn about famous musicians so this could give them someone to listen to and explore or look up to.

Angela Kucharski- "Tuba Lesson"

“Tuba Lesson” is by T.C Bartlett and Monique Felix. The story begins with a mother telling his son not to be late to his Tuba lesson as he walks out the door. The boy gets distracted in many ways along the way including climbing trees, running into animals,  and running into a bear! Finally the boy gets to his tuba lesson. The book doesn't have very direct lessons but it has subtle lessons. When the animals start making noises at the boy the smaller animals have smaller music notes come out of them, while the bigger animals have larger notes. And when the bear comes out and growls he has the largest music note of all! This is teaching kids about dynamics and that there is a difference between loud and softs. Also throughout the whole story the boy is walking on five lines which is suppose to represent the lines and spaces of the music staves. This again is subtle but good for kids to start connecting notes and staff lines. 

Angela Kucharski- "When Louis Armstrong Taught me Scat"

“When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat” is by  Muriel Harris Weinstein. The books plot is about a girl who gets exposed to Scat by her mother and than when she goes to sleep that night she cant stop thinking about scat. Louis Armstrong appears and helps the girl believe in her scat abilities and gets her to create more scat words. They create a song together about bubblegum and then he leaves after she has gotten more confidence in her scatting. This book teaches a few things, first off it gives a definition for scatting which young kids might not know what that is. It also teaches kids about self expression. In the book, when Louis first appears the young girl says that she cannot create scat words on her own. But after Louis shows her how easy and fun it is, she is creating words on her own! This is very important for young children to learn because self expression is an important part of creating and feeling music.

Anthony Kim

The Cat’s Baton is Gone A Musical Cat-tastrophe

The book The Cat’s Baton is Gone A Musical Cat-tastrophe is about a cat named Leopold von Kittenkat who is a conductor for an orchestra. In search for his baton, Leopold goes through and ask members of his orchestra is they saw his baton. In the end he is unable to find the baton but uses his tail to conduct the orchestra in the end. This book although does not have a compelling story line or development does use humor in its ending for the students to enjoy the book. The book is used to provide students an exposure to different instruments especially those not commonly used in orchestras. In the back of the book, each instrument that appeared in the story is provided with a description the instruments so students are able to learn further about the different types of instruments that appeared in the book.

Anthony Kim

Arthur, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll

The book Arthur, It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll is about the character Francine trying to create a musical band in protest to other “sell out bands.” When her band begins to become bigger and bigger the band which she promised not to “sell out” begins to “sell out” as a result she quits the band. As the band becomes larger and larger the band realized with Francine the band cannot keep going. In one of their biggest performances they realize the fun of just playing and the love of music which in the end was the most important part of it all. This book goes over the concept of creating a band and the implications that can occur in doing so. When a band becomes famous they forget why they created a band in the first. This book helps to teach students that even if a band is successful or not successful, the important thing to remember is the love of music.

Anthony Kim

The Heroic Symphony - Anna Harwell Celenza

The book Heroic Symphony is about the story of Ludwig Van Beethoven and his his struggles with his soon to be disability of hearing loss. Instead of giving up, Beethoven decides to change from performing to composing and in doing so creates a piece known as “Heroic Symphony.” In the book, the author writes about the journey and reasoning behind Beethoven’s melodic lines and instrumentation throughout the piece and its movements. This book is useful for educational purposes because it not only talks about a famous musician’s problems and how he overcame them, but also teaches students the complexity in music. The book emphasizes to the reader to listen to certain sounds which emulate real life noises in war or peace so that later in the reader’s life he/she can be cognizant of musical motifs in the future.

Nina Chamberlin- The Ear Book by Al Perkins:

This book is a simple exploration of what a child may hear in their everyday lives. The large illustrations and very simple text makes it an easy text for a beginning reader to practice reading. The pictures can undoubtedly help provide meaning to the text. This can be a very useful book in a music classroom because it can open p the discussion about what music truly is, and it can expand students’ minds about their everyday experiences. As a teacher, I would ask what similarities and differences there are between the flute player and the dripping faucet in the book, and I would have my students think of other examples like those.  If the students can open their minds about music, they can open their minds to all the other skills they are working to develop in school.

Nina Chamberlin- ¡Marimba!: Animales from A to Z by Pat Mora:

This book tells the fictional tale of a zoo full of fun-loving animals throwing a party inspired and driven by a monkey playing a marimba. Once the zookeepers are asleep, he reader is taken on an alphabetical tour of the festivities, and with every letter of the alphabet, the readers get to learn an animal’s Spanish name. This book has a great place in music classrooms because it not only shows how music  can bring people together, but it shows the beauty of including and celebrating other cultures. During the party, the animals are enjoying Hispanic foods, dances, and musical styles, and it is important for children to see many and all cultures celebrated in their early lives. This way, they are not fearful of people who are not exactly like them when they grow older.

Nina Chamberlin-  Boo-Hoo Moo by Margie Palatini:

This book follows a set of barnyard animals in their quest to lift the spirits of one of their friends. Their friend, a cow, has been mooing in a very sad and undesirable tone, and the animals are tired of hearing it. They decide that the cow is sad because she has no one to sing with, so the friends decide to construct a singing ensemble for her. It is revealed, through this process, that the animals would also like to share some of this spotlight, and they would all like to be a part of the ensemble they are creating. After creating this ensemble, they present it to their cow friend only to find out that she has given up singing to become a dancer. Although this book does a great job of drawing attention to the musical sounds animals make, it also shines a light on people acting for the best interest of themselves over their friends. If I were to teach this book, I would use these concepts to help my students self-reflect on their actions in their own lives.