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Summary
Summary
With the school talent show coming up, a young music lover spends most of her time daydreaming about the perfect act. She notices the sounds around her, like the brrrrring of the school bell or the rappa-tappa-tap of rain on the windowpane. But the talent show is the place to reveal her own voice. Will she mix up some hip-hop beats? Will she command an orchestra of dozens, bringing the classics to life? Or, will she go electric, Jimi Hendrix style? Marching out on the talent show stage to the beat of her own drum, this sweet and sassy musician ultimately chooses to be herself and sing her own song loud and proud, "I've got a rock 'n' roll soul!"
Author Notes
Susan Verde is the author of The Museum , You and Me , I Am Yoga , and My Kicks . She is a licensed yoga instructor and lives in East Hampton, New York.
Matthew Cordell is the author/illustrator of many children's books, including Wish , Dream , and Wolf in the Snow . He lives outside of Chicago.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Verde's (I Am Yoga) latest, as all the student musicians at school gear up for the talent show, an exuberant girl makes her plans as well. She doesn't play any instruments, but she's confident in her talents: "I can make the music flow./ I can jam and put on a show./ I've got a Rock 'n' Roll SOUL!" Actually, she's genre-agnostic, paying tribute in the rhymes that follow to hip-hop, jazz, soul, folk, and classical music ("My body simply rises and floats/ when I'm part of those classical notes"). When the big day arrives, the narrator declares herself a "one-girl band" and announces to the packed house, "My greatest instrument is ME." It's definitely affirming and egalitarian, and the heroine's appreciation for music is heartfelt-but young musicians (and their parents) may feel slightly miffed: there's a lot more to musicianship than making a declaration. Fortunately, Cordell (Wolf in the Snow), the 2018 Caldecott Medalist, never misses a beat. Whether capturing his uninhibited heroine bopping down the street to the music in her headphones or crunching her cereal in rhythm, his pictures are knowing and funny, and they crackle with visual electricity. Ages 3-7. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
A brown-skinned girl with a "Rock n' Roll Soul" uses rhythmic, rhyming words to extol the virtues of music, from hip-hop to classical, as she prepares to wow the crowd at the school talent show. Cordell's loose pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations seem to vibrate with energy, a perfect complement to the onomatopoeia-filled text. A rocking and empowering read-aloud. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
For every kid who makes a joyful noise from sunrise to sunset…and all the adults within earshot.A little tan-skinned girl, with her black hair in two puffballs, declares in Verde's rhyming text that she has a "rock 'n' roll soul," and when she performs in the school talent show, she brings the house down. No matter where she goes in her urban neighborhood or what she does, her steady companion, music, follows. Even when she sleeps, she dreams of music. In a six-page dream sequence, only the unnamed protagonist, dressed in an outfit for each occasion, appears in color while her audiences, admirers, orchestra (which she conducts), and marching jazz band (which she leads) appear in gray. Reminiscent in style and energy of Quentin Blake's illustrations, Cordell's watercolors pulse with life, movement, and lighthearted fun. Onomatopoeic words follow this kid everywhere ("Tap-a Tap-a Tap-a"; "chikk-a chikk-a"; "zoing oing toing") in scratchy, hand-drawn and -colored letters. Her single dad, who makes a brief appearance at home, clearly enjoys the musical exuberance of his daughter, who gets quiet only when she sleeps (and dreams of music). Though entirely lacking in conflict, this picture book encourages girls to let the music inside them come out.A rappa-tappin' good read that will invite readers young and old alike to move, groove, and turn on their favorite tunes. (Picture book. 4-8)
Booklist Review
As a young African American girl demonstrates, making music can be about rocking to your own beat and not necessarily playing fancy instruments. Our heroine can't contain the music inside her as she anticipates performing in the school talent show. With headphones firmly in place, she bounds out of school, drums on a garbage can, makes shaking sounds with rocks, and entertains her dad with kitchen utensils, confirming that she is truly a one-girl band and her own greatest instrument. She conjures up images of herself performing hip-hop, classical, blues, jazz, electric guitar, and peaceful sounds. She's a little bit David Bowie, part Elvis Presley, and some Billie Holiday. In the final spread, she wows a large, adoring audience at the talent show. Cordell's loose, sprawling artwork almost pours off the page just as the music pours from the narrator's head and it's well suited to Verde's short, ebullient, and energetic rhyming text. Have materials for making sound on hand (the cruder the better) as this will unleash many rock 'n' roll souls.--Enos, Randall Copyright 2018 Booklist
