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Searching... Dallas Public Library | + PRESCHOOL - LITHGOW | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Reedle-ee
Rootle-ee
Vroom-pety BANG!
Young Farkle McBride is a musical genius: He plays the violin, the flute, the trombone, and the drums with incredible skill. But he's never satisfied: Something is missing.
In his first book, actor and musician John Lithgow introduces a memorable character, a fickle yet lovable child prodigy who brings the sounds and rhythms of an orchestra to sprawling visual life. With a double gatefold showing the entire orchestra, this is the ultimate book for the music lover in all of us.
Deedle-ee
Doodle-ee
Doom-pety CLANG!
Author Notes
John Lithgow was born on October 19, 1945 in Rochester, NY. He went to Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1967. After graduation, Lithgow won a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
He has won four Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. He has also been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. In 2005, he became the first actor ever to deliver a commencement speech at Harvard University.
In addition to acting, he is the author of many books for children. He lives in Los Angeles.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-At the age of three, Farkle McBride has mastered the violin, at five the flute, two years later the trombone, and by nine the entire percussion section. Unfortunately, the musical prodigy quickly tires of each new accomplishment and grows annoyed by the sounds he produces. It is only when the conductor is too ill to lead the orchestra and the child is asked to substitute that he realizes his true calling. "Poor Farkle at ten, howsoever renowned,/Reached the end of his/musical tether./But then he discovered his/favorite sound:/Musicians all playing together." The boy takes his final bow on an impressive double-gatefold spread with the orchestra behind him and his audience obviously well pleased. From the musical mobile dangling above his bassinet on the opening pages to the congratulatory bouquet at the end, it is clear that Farkle is a born musician; however, it is his sheer capriciousness that provides this contemporary tall tale with its zany humor. Payne's realistic mixed-media illustrations contain whimsical details and lots of musical innuendoes; the text appears on pages lightly imprinted with musical notation. The grotesquely enlarged heads of many characters and the dire fates suffered by several instruments are disconcerting at first but deliver a visual punch. The jaunty rhyme scheme with lots of onomatopoeia will have listeners "deedle-eeing" and "tootle-ee tooing" right along. Pair this wry and witty read-aloud with Lloyd Moss's Zin! Zin! Zin!: A Violin (S & S, 1995).-Carol Ann Wilson, Westfield Memorial Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
No stranger to music (he released a CD for children titled "Singin' in the Bathtub"), actor Lithgow pens a romp of a tale about a prodigy whose quest for the perfect instrument leads him through virtually every section of the orchestra. "When Farkle McBride was a three-year-old tyke,/ All freckle-y, bony, and thin,/ He astonished his friends and his family alike/ By playing superb violin." After his debut, the easily dissatisfied diminutive genius trades in his fiddle for a flute ("He went Rootle-ee/ Tootle-ee/ Tootle-ee Too/ With all of the winds at his side"), then a trombone and subsequently percussion, all to no avail. Not until he steps in for an ill conductor does he finds his niche; a gatefold spread shows him ("satisfied!") in front of "all the instruments he ever tried." Lithgow's nimble verse with a limerick's beat sparkles as he introduces readers to the various instruments and their sounds. Payne's outrageously droll mixed media illustrations, with their blend of caricature and realism, recall Kathryn Hewitt's work in Lives of the Musicians. Although Farkle is remarkably difficult to please, his tale may well strike a chord with anyone who's ever made overtures at musicianship. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Musical prodigy Farkle McBride takes up the violin, flute, trombone, and drums but eventually grows dissatisfied with each. He finds his niche when called upon to conduct all the instruments in an orchestra. Written in verse that employs the onomatopoeia of musical sounds, this slight tale is accompanied by cartoony illustrations that sometimes make Farkle and family seem unduly grotesque. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A welcome debut from an accomplished actor, the remarkable Lithgow. Limerick-like rhyming text recounts the tale of a musical prodigy, Farkle McBride, who from age three, masters, then discards, instrument after instrument in the quest to satisfy his musical passions. Beginning with the violin Lithgow provides unique onomatopoeic tones for the instruments: "He went Reedle-ee, Deedle-ee, Deedle-ee Dee with all the strings at his side." The trombone: " He went Vroom-pety, Doom-pety, Doom-pety Doom . . ." and percussion: " He went Boom, Bash, Clang-a-ma Clash! All the clamor that he could provide." Yet the older McBride grows, the more dissatisfied he becomes with his accomplishments until finally given the opportunity to conduct, "his happy heart sings, / To brass, drums, winds, and strings, / And remarkable Farkle's at last SATISFIED." The story ends with a sweeping, dramatic, four-page panoramic gatefold featuring the proud ten-year-old standing on a symphony hall stage in front of an entire orchestra. Payne's (True Heart, 1999) humorous mixed-media illustrations feature characters with oversized heads and exaggerated features, changing points-of-view, and a variety of textures. Often the text is set on a background of giant notes and the format itself is as outsized as Farkle's personality. Encore! (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.