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Library | Call Number | Status |
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Searching... Jefferson Public Library | P SAGE, J. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Lyons Public Library | E/K SAG | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Monmouth Public Library | SAGE | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
A little band marches through town delighting everyone with its beautiful music.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-- This visually lovely but unconvincing story tries to depict a special moment in time: the experience of being touched by something magical, mysterious, and ephemeral, that captures the imagination and leaves an indelible impression. Parading from one end of town to the other, the almost too-quaint little band is a multiracial combo, whose barefoot, dimunitive members are adorned with headdresses of flowers, leaves, and butterflies. The band and its music charms everyone and everything it passes. Sage's simple text, cataloging the many and varied townspeople and animals and their reactions of amazement and delight, is earnest but contrived. Narahashi's whimsical watercolors fill the pages with soft, luminous colors, painting the town and its inhabitants with a satisfying hominess. Although different in style, they evoke the folksy small-town settings of McCloskey or Burton, but don't always mesh with the rhythm and pacing of the text. An appealing idea, but neither story nor illustrations generate the excitement necessary to sustain readers' suspension of disbelief. --Corinne Camarata, Port Washington Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
``At first there was the sound of faraway music,'' and then six barefooted children march through the town and countryside, captivating the inhabitants with their sweet music. Initially, everyone wants to know who they are, but eventually even the animals are content just to listen. Resembling a rainbow of colors, the children wear hats made of flower petals and butterfly wings, and depart as mysteriously as they arrived, ``leaving behind no hint of who they were, or why they had come, or where they were going. But long afterward people remembered their beautiful faraway music. And nothing was ever the same again.'' Like a melody that lingers in the heart, Narahashi's ( Who Said Red? ; Who Wants One? ) vibrant, winsome illustrations and Sage's intriguing text will bring readers much joy. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
A mysterious band of six children of various races marches through the countryside playing music, enchanting yet puzzling all who see them. The text is simple and expressive, although the unanswered questions may frustrate children. The watercolor illustrations are warm and vibrant. From HORN BOOK 1991, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Echoing both the events and the mysterious tone of Margaret Wise Brown's The Little Brass Band (1955), Sage's gentle text describes the passing of a band that unexpectedly marches through a busy village, ignoring the people who pause in their work to hear its music, passing fields of animals and even the fish at sea before disappearing--leaving only the wonderful memory of ""their beautiful faraway music."" In her glowing, deftly designed watercolors, Narahashi transforms the simple story into an expanded peaceable kingdom. The six barefoot children in the band, decked with oversize blossoms and butterflies, are of different races; unobtrusively, the activities around them represent most of the range of human experience. A quiet, thoughtful, and lovely book. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Ages 3-7. Six barefoot children (a multiracial group with butterfly-, leaf-, and flower-inspired headdresses and a variety of musical instruments) march through a town, into the countryside, and out of sight, leaving everyone happier for the sound of their music. Whether taken as a simple, upbeat tale or as a metaphor for the transient yet transforming experience of art, this picture book pleases in many ways. Narahashi, illustrator of Serfozo's Who Said Red? [BKL S 1 88], contributes a series of colorful double-page spreads, filling town and country with myriad lively details yet never detracting from the central unifying mystery of the musical troupe. Vibrant watercolors interpret the text with a sense of joy seemingly imparted by the little band itself. A natural for story time. ~--Carolyn Phelan