Unfolds a world of music for casual as well as serious listeners.
Folded, appropriately enough, accordion style, a panoramic survey of noteworthy music and music makers from bone flutes to Beyoncé.
With an international outlook and an eye for music that incorporates disparate styles and traditions, the authors and Taylor closely fill both sides of a nearly 8-foot-long strip of sturdy stock with hundreds of human figures—broadly diverse in skin color and period or national dress—and musical instruments, all paired to blocks of pithy but lucid commentary. Following an opening world map of prehistoric highlights on every inhabited continent, the contents take a chronological drift with biographical entries running along the top, cultural notes in the middle, and technological advances highlighted at the bottom. Select milestones in opera, orchestral music, and rock-’n’-roll get fair shares of attention (the Beatles even rate an entire page), but so do the histories of Indigenous American, Asian, and African music; son Cubano and Caribbean styles; Australian bush music; and other music linked to particular cultures or regions. Likewise, the nods to lesser-known figures or milestones—composers such as Amy Beach, performers from kunqu opera founder Wei Liangfu to punk ranter Poly Styrene, and tools such as the online music platform Chinabot—can’t help but give young audiences an expansive view of what music is and can be.
Unfolds a world of music for casual as well as serious listeners. (recommended playlist, authors’ notes, glossary, source list, index) (Informational novelty. 9-12)Pub Date: May 12, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9999679-4-9
Page Count: 22
Publisher: What on Earth!
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing.
In this graphic memoir by sports journalist Shah, a ninth grader pursues his passion in the face of familial expectations pushing him toward a medical career, while also navigating the perils of high school social life.
It’s 1995, and Indian American Amar is desperate to meet the Chicago Bulls—Michael Jordan, in particular—when they stop by his Orlando, Florida, school. A lucky break leads him to his first sports interview, with Phil Jackson, and his tenacity takes him further, leading to multiple conversations with Shaquille O’Neal. But Amar’s luck in journalism doesn’t spill over to his relationship with his crush, blond Kasey Page (“like a mixture of Cameron Diaz, Tinkerbell, and heaven”), or his efforts to remain close with best friends Rohit and Cherian, who start spending more time with other classmates. The work relies on captions as much as plot developments to propel the story. It also follows a broad cast of characters—close and former friends, antagonists, supportive adults, and famous athletes—who appear in multiple storylines. The story accurately depicts the complexities of life as a young teen, though overlapping life challenges pull it in multiple directions, leaving some threads underexplored and hastily wrapped up. Doucet illustrates the characters using loose, disjointed outlines that give the artwork a sense of movement, and the colorful backgrounds use patterns and action lines to indicate a wide array of emotions.
A tighter focus would make this fascinating life story even more intriguing. (author’s note, photographs) (Graphic memoir. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2025
ISBN: 9781546110514
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Graphix/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An impeccably researched and told biography of Leonard Bernstein’s musical apprenticeship, from toddlerhood to his conducting debut with the New York Philharmonic at age 25. Rubin traces Lenny’s education, musical influences and enduring friendships. Lenny reveled in mounting elaborate musical productions in Sharon, Mass., his family’s summer community. As a student, he augmented support from his family by giving lessons, accompanying singers, transcribing music and more; the narrative sparkles with details that match its subject’s energy and verve. Especially crystalline are the links drawn between father Sam’s decades-long dismissal of his son’s musical gifts and the consequential importance of mentors and supportive teachers in the young man’s life. In exploring Lenny’s devout Jewish roots and coming of age during the persecution of Jews in Europe, the author reveals how dramatically Bernstein altered the landscape for conductors on the American scene. In an epilogue sketching Bernstein’s later life, she briefly mentions his bisexuality, marriage and children. Drawn from interviews, family memoirs and other print resources, quotations are well-integrated and assiduously attributed. Photos, concert programs, early doodles and letters, excerpts from musical scores and other primary documentation enhance the text. Excellent bookmaking—from type to trim size—complements a remarkable celebration of a uniquely American musical genius. (chronology, biographical sketches, author’s note, discography, bibliography, quotation sources, index) (Biography. 9-12)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-58089-344-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2011
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