Song of Middle C

K-Gr 3A young musician describes the week leading up to her first piano recital: "Hoo boy, have I been practicing!" She has memorized her piece, "Dance of the Wood Elves," and plays it over and over, using her imagination to add to her "musical interpretation" (a humorous spread shows a woodland scene with the girl playing as elves cavort across the top of the piano). On the big day, she wears her lucky underwear and rehearses taking a bow in front of her stuffed animals. She's all confidence in the car even as her big brother taunts her, and remains "cool as a cucumber" backstage, but when it's her turn she freezes up ("Fingers? Hello?"). Placing her hands in starting position, she accidentally puts her thumb on middle C and inspiration hits: she plays this note repeatedlylike thunder, like wind, and finally like "tiny wood elves who have lost their lucky underwear"to the great surprise and admiration of the audience. Drawn with pen and ink and colored digitally, the cartoon artwork merrily depicts the action while illustrating the young maestro's funny flights of fancy. Sharp lines, clean layouts, and clever details add to the fun. The first-person narrative strikes just the right note, revealing feelings and concerns that will be familiar to any child who has ever been in a performance situation."Joy Fleishhacker", School Library Journal Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.