Becoming Bach–New

 

Title: Becoming Bach
Author: Tom Leonard
Series: N/A
Recommended for: Pre-schoolers and up, especially for homeschoolers looking for an arts supplement.
Pages: 40
Call Number/Link:  E B BACH, S.

Synopsis:

“Highlights the life and achievements of the eighteenth-century German composer and musician, and examines the development of his most important compositions.”

 

My thoughts:

This beautifully-illustrated biography of J.S. Bach does a good job of presenting a great composer to young children. I was nearly mesmerized by the lovely pictures, and just wanted to keep staring at them!

One note: the book describes the deaths of his parents as “after mother and father went to heaven…” Death is definitely a difficult subject for some families, and would be a great discussion point for this book.

The historical notes in the back of the book were also quite interesting; I’ve read some biographical material on Bach that seems to disagree with some of the author’s assertions (eg, my own research seems to indicate that Bach was asked to leave Arnstadt because he took a very long unapproved leave of absence from his position; insulted a student; and engaged in a physical fight with the man, rather than writing music that upset the Church authorities as the author asserts. However, verifying this would take more time than the desk really allows!) but the book itself is lovely and highly recommended! –Rebekah

 

Lost in Paris

Title: Lost in Paris                  
Author: Cindy Callaghan
Series:
Recommended for:  3rd thru 6th grade girls
Pages: 165
Call Number/Link:  J FICTION CALLAGHAN

Synopsis:  “Gwen Russell is thrilled to hear she will be heading to Paris with her family. Even though the main reason for the trip is to see her three older brothers play lacrosse, Gwen and her Mom have plans to tour the city when they can — As soon as they land, Gwen is swept up in the city she has always wanted to see, and even meets a cute boy named Henri. If that wasn’t enough excitement, Gwen finds out that her all-time favorite band is playing a one-night only concert in Paris—and there are tickets available to the sold-old show for three lucky people. The catch? Fans who want a golden ticket have to work for it via a scavenger hunt around the City of Light.” — Provided by Amazon.

This is one of our new J Fic choices, which is why I chose it. Since I am used to reading adult fiction or picture books, it took a little adjustment to reading a book geared for later elementary school or early middle school – the difference being depth of material.  I thought the story was okay but not wonderful.  The is a fun, quirky character who helps Gwen in the hunt around the city for the tickets.  I did not like that the adult tour director abandoned her group to go in search of the tickets.  It would probably be a good recommendation for the 3rd or 4th grade girl – older if their reading level is a little lower.  I am sure they would enjoy it.

 

Echo

Title:   Echo
Author:   Pam Munoz Ryan
Series:   not applicable
Recommended for:   Grades 6 and up
Pages:   585 pages
Call Number/Link:   TEEN FICTION RYAN, P.

Rating:   ****

 

 

Synopsis:

Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica–and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica.

Comments:

I’d heard a lot of positive buzz about Echo so decided to read it. The book was well-written and I appreciated that the children in the book were able to survive very difficult, seemingly hopeless situations thanks to music.  (They were also helped by a magical harmonica).  I’m a fan of books with intertwining stories which come together at the end of the book.  There were moments when I couldn’t believe that the author would be able to pull off a logical ending that tied everything together, but she did.  The downside of the book was that I cried when the sadness of the children’s situations overwhelmed me.

Echo would be a great choice for readers who like tearjerkers, historical fiction (particularly World War II), music, and books with entwined stories.