21st June World Music Day

World Music Day is an annual day of music celebration that takes place on 21st June on the summer solstice. The first occurrence happened in Paris in 1982, originated by Jack Lang, the former Minister of Culture of France. The celebration spread to other countries, where people are encouraged to play music in public, and free concerts are organised in most towns and cities for the benefit of all!

In Australia it will be the winter solstice, not really the weather for outdoor concerts. Even so my daughter is off to a concert on a boat this evening, so perhaps it is. 

I feel very prepared to celebrate this day as I have spent so much time looking at the library's music books in readiness for the Book Week celebrations of Symphony of Stories.

Just put Book Week, music or Symphony of Stories in my search and lots of books will come up.

29th March World Piano Day

The Music of Life, a picture book biography by Elizabeth Rusch and Marjorie Priceman tells of the invention of the piano by Bartolomeo Cristofori. He coaxes just the right sounds from the musical instruments he makes. Some of his keyboards can play piano, light and soft; others make forte notes ring out, strong and loud, but Cristofori longs to create an instrument that can be played both soft and loud. At last Cristofori gets his creation just right. It is called the pianoforte, for what it can do. All around the world, people young and old can play the most intricate music of their lives, thanks to Bartolomeo Cristofori’s marvellous creation: the piano.

World Piano Day is an annual event aiming to create a platform for piano-related projects, promote the development of musical dimensions and encourage everyone to enjoy playing (or listening to!) piano.

I wrote about this day in 2022, but new picture books have arrived in the library since then, there is now a show on our national television station called The Piano  that features piano playing in public places and this year our Children's Book Week theme is Symphony of Stories  so I have been putting aside 'music' books so as to saturate the library displays during Term 3. 

Recently I have purchased these:

• The Elephant and the Piano by Collette Hiller and Nabila Adani 

In a sanctuary in Thailand lived an elephant called Bonti. Short-tempered and destructive, Bonti was alone - the other elephants (and humans) knew to keep their distance. But when a musician came to play the piano for Bonti, something incredible happened... the spectacular true story of Paul Barton and the elephants who loved to hear him play.

• The Paper Piano  by Rachel Ip and Natalie Quek

When Noah hears beautiful piano music sweeping through the station, he longs to play. Without a pianoof his own, he carefully crafts one out of paper, and the notes fill his head night and day. Until finally, with the help of a neighbour, his musical dream comes true . . .

• Piano Wants to Play  by Colleen Kong-Savage

Piano and Amy share a special bond. Piano loves to play music with Amy. And Amy loves Piano, too.  "Play me, Amy! Play me!" Piano calls. And they do. Every day they play and practise, testing notes and strengthening fingers. From notes to scales to warm, rippling melodies, together they make a joyful noise. 

• That's My Piano, Sir!  by Ana Gerhard and  Marie Lafrance

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is no ordinary boy, sporting a white wig and elegantly dressed in red velvet, on his way to playing several concerts in the city. To the surprise of all, he proudly begins to play with his sister for the tired customs officer and gloomy dockworkers. The evening air begins to glisten and soon, everyone's faces are beaming, their ears ringing with music! (There are other famous musicians in this series)

It would be good to own this biography as well, but it is too expensive.

• The Green Piano by Roberta Flack and Hayden Goodman

Roberta Flack recounts her childhood in a home surrounded by music and love. It all started with a beat-up piano that her father found in a junkyard, repaired, and painted green.

6th November Saxophone Day

You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker, or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax-a boy with bad luck but great ideas. The Story of the Saxophone by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's journey from Adolphe's imagination to the pawn shop window where it caught the eye of musician Sidney Bechet and became the iconic symbol of jazz music it is today. 

6th November is Saxophone Day, which coincides with the birthday of its inventor, Antoine-Joseph ‘Adolphe’ Sax. This Belgian musician conceived the saxophone in 1841, the only instrument created by one single person and the only brass instrument in the woodwind family. Before the saxophone, he created various ‘sax’ brass instruments that fell into oblivion, including the saxtuba, saxotromba, and saxhorn. Today we celebrate the fantastic contribution of the saxophone to music. With time, it became an inherent part of jazz bands, inspiring many songs and dances from classical saxophonist Marcel Mule to the famous jazz musician Charlie Parker.

There are more books than you would think about people who have played the saxophone after its invention. Most of the books are picture book biographies.

31st January Inspire Your Heart With Art Day

Inspire Your Heart With Art Day encourages us to ponder how art affects our hearts. Art is valued and appreciated for all sorts of reasons. The pieces of art that move us to tears or cause us to burst out into joyous laughter remain with us for a lifetime. Whether we are touched by music or see into an artist's soul through their work, art has the power to change us, to inspire our hearts. On a website it suggested you do these things to celebrate the day. I have added a book to each idea so you can do it vicariously!

1. Visit an art gallery 

Seen Art?  by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith

A little guy is supposed to meet his friend Art at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Fifty-third street in New York City. Art's not there. So our guy asks a lady walking by, "Have you seen Art?" She directs him to the newly redesigned Museum of Modern Art where everyone is more than happy to show him where they have seen Art. 

2. Attend a live theatre performance

The Story of Chicken Licken by Jan Ormerod

The story Chicken Licken is retold with illustrations of school children performing the story as a play on stage.

3. Read a good book 

A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and Jim LaMarche

A bear finds a piece of paper with tiny marks on it and takes it back to his cave.  Years later, he wanders farther than usual away from his cave and sees a cabin, with a woman sitting outside reading a book.  He comes back several times and watches her, fascinated by her reactions to the book she is reading.  One day, she is not there, so he comes closer and puts his head on one of her books, curious about it. 

4. Listen to music.

Ada's Violin  by Susan Hood and Sally Wern Comport

Ada Ríos grew up in Cateura, a small town in Paraguay built on a landfill. She dreamed of playing the violin, but with little money for anything but the bare essentials, it was never an option...until a music teacher named Favio Chávez arrived. He wanted to give the children of Cateura something special, so he made them instruments out of materials found in the trash. It was a crazy idea, but one that would leave Ada—and her town—forever changed.

5. Start your masterpiece

Luke's Way of Looking  by Nadia Wheatley and Matt Ottley

All the boys in Luke's class see things the same way except for Luke, who has his own special way of looking. Luke feels as if he doesn t fit in. And then one day he discovers a place that feels like home. Suddenly, the whole world changes.

6. Attend a ballet performance

Ella Bella Ballerina and Swan Lake by James Mayhew

One in a series of books which introduce famous ballets and Shakespeare to young children.

7. Teach someone how to play an instrument 

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki and Qin Leng

Is about a little girl named Hana who heard the violin for the first time when her grandfather played it for her on a visit to him in Japan.  She fell in love with its sound and associated it with the love she had for her grandfather as well.  She is so inspired by her experience that she starts violin lessons right away when she gets home. 

8. See an inspirational film 

Shrek! by William Steig

Most students are surprised to find that one of their favourite movies was once a book.

9. Share your art with others

Let's Paint  by Gabriel Alborozo

Whether you drip, dot, daub - or carefully dab - there is a marvellous, messy world of art waiting to be explored. From exquisitely detailed paintings to crazy kaleidoscopes of colour, art is as essential as the air we breathe and much more fun. So open the book and see for yourself...and Let's Paint!

21st June World Music Day

The Fête de la musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day the citizens of a city or country are allowed and urged to play music outside in their neighbourhoods or in public spaces and parks.

What fun! Let's make music!      

I used a new book by Sophy Henn  The Music in Me as a starting point and  to convince students they are all capable of making music. Then added

• Never Play Music Right Next Door to the Zoo by John Lithgow & Leeza Hernandez

• Animal Music by Julia Donaldson and Nick Sharratt

• The Musical Life of Gustav Mole by Patrick McNee & Kathryn Meyrick

• I am the the Music Man  by Debra Potter

• Ah, Music!  by Aliki

• Violet's Music by Angela Johnson & Laura Huliska-Beith

• Music is for Everyone Jill Barber by & Sydney Smith

• M is for Music by Kathleen Krull & Stacy Innerst 

• Squeak, Rumble, Whomp! Whomp! Whomp!  by Wynton Marsalis  & Paul Rogers

13th December World Violin Day

Unfortunately there is no one at school to celebrate Violin Day. We are already on summer holidays, but at my school all of Year 2 take part in a 'strings program' where they learn to play the violin or cello. When they first begin, being in the room next door at school, is excruciating but by the time the end of year concert comes round I am amazed at how good they sound, so next year when the Year 2 students are allocated their new instrument I am going to do a display in the library of all these wonderful 'violin' books.
• Patrick by Quentin Blake. When Patrick plays his violin extraordinary things happen.
• Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin by Lloyd Moss and Marjorie Priceman among other things this is a fun introduction to the orchestra
• A Violin for Elva by Mary Lyn Ray and Tricia Tusa. Elva wants a violin but her parents say no.
• The Pear Violin by Bingbo and Gumi. A clever squirrel turns half a pear into a violin and makes beautiful music in the forest.
• Hana Hashimoto: Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki and Qin Leng. Hana has had three violin lessons when she decides to enter a talent quest.
• The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson and Dusan Petricic tells the story of Joshua Bell, a famous classical violinist who gave a free concert in a subway in Washington.
• The Violin Man  by Colin Thompson is about Oscar who plays his violin outside a theatre but longs to play inside the theatre.
• The Anzac Violin by Jennifer Beck and Robyn Belton is the true story of New Zealand soldier, Alexander Aitken who took his violin everywhere he went.
• Ada's Violin by Susan Hood and Sally Were Comport tells the amazing story of a group of children who play musical instruments built from recycled rubbish in Paraguay.
• The Magic Violin by Victor Kelleher. Jimbo plays the violin just like Year 2 do at the beginning...terribly.
• Kizmet and the Case of the Smashed Violin  by Frank Woodley is a short chapter book that has Kizmet trying to find out who is smashed a priceless Stradivarius violin.

30th April International Jazz Day

International Jazz Day is a yearly event on 30 April, organized by UNESCO to celebrate “the virtues of jazz as an educational tool, and a force for peace, unity, dialogue and enhanced cooperation among people.” The day was proclaimed during the UNESCO General Conference in November 2011.

Once I would have said that jazz music wasn't something my students were interested in, but I haven't had too much trouble getting them to borrow books such as these:

• Ben's Trumpet  by Rachel Isadora

• This Jazz Man by Karen Ehrhardt

• The Jazz Fly by Matthew W. Gollub
• Sheep's Jazzy Jumper by Carrie and David Grant

• My Two Grandads by Floella Benjamin

and all the wonderful biographies that are part of the library's picture book biography collection:

• Dizzy  by Jonah Winter ( the story of Dizzy Gillespie)

• Mister and Lady Day by Amy Novesky (the story of Billie Holiday and the dog who loved her)

• The Little Piano Girl by Ann Ingalls and Maryann MacDonald (the story of Mary Lou Williams)

• Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter (the story of singer Josephine Baker)

• Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka

• Before John was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane by Carole Boston Weatherford

4th August Louis Armstrong (1901 - 1971)

Louis Armstrong was a famous jazz musician. There is a considerable number of expository texts written about his life, but This Jazz Man is a tribute to nine well-known jazz musicians in a format very accessible to very young children. The song 'This Old Man' gets a toe-tapping makeover and it features nine of the best jazz musicians. Satchmo (Louis Armstrong's nickname) plays one, Bojangles plays two and so on until the ninth featured musician. As well as counting, dancing and swaying to the song the book includes a brief biography on each musician. Our library's copy has an accompanying CD to make it even easier to sing and dance along with.

Champions Read 5 - Music, Dance and Theatre

I had fun wandering around the library collecting together biographies for this category. Once again I found quite a few and had to sit and reread many of them. How inspiring!

For music I found:

• Beethoven Lives Upstairs by Barbara Nichol

• I, Vivaldi by Janice Shefelman & Tom Schefelman

• Play, Mozart, Play! by Peter Sis

• Mozart: The Wonder Child by Diane Stanley

• For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart by Elizabeth Rusch, Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher

• Dizzy by Jonah Winter & Sean Qualls (story of Dizzy Gillespie)

• The Red Piano by Andre Leblanc (the story of pianist Zhu Xiao-Mei, who grew up in China during the cultural revolution)

• Song of the Dove by Errol Broome & Sonia Kretschmer (story of composer Bellini after he has written his tenth opera)

For mime:

• Marcel Marceau: Master of Mime by Gloria Speilman & Manon Gauthier

For dance:

• The Peasant Prince by Li Cunxin and Anne Spudvilas

• I Dreamed I was a Ballerina by Anna Pavlova & Edgar Degas

For performing:

• The Little Refugee by Anh Do, Suzanne Do and Bruce Whatley (story of Australian comedian)