The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives - Taylor Strom

The Extraordinary Music of Mr. Ives tells the story of when the Lusitania was attacked in 1915, the American composer and New Yorker, Charles Ives, transformed the experience of the heartbreaking news into a musical piece. It begins with a jumble of traffic noises, then the hurdy-gurdy swells into the lovely old hymn “In the Sweet Bye-and-Bye.” In lyrical text and watercolors, this thoughtful picture book reveals not only a wartime tragedy, but a composer’s assurance that everyday music can convey emotion and be able to help heal a city. Young readers and musicians will understand that if they listen, music can be heard in the unlikeliest of places, from the busy noise of a market to the wail of a fire engine.