This Magical, Musical Night

Greene makes classical music energetically inviting in this picture book that describes a night at the symphony. A black-haired, pale-skinned adult and two children with similar characteristics excitedly find their seats in the concert hall as the musicians sit onstage. Then the magic begins. Rhymes have a snappy beat as Greene traces the concert's progression: "Notes ascend--swoop and chase!/ They curl, unfurl, swirl round this place!/ Like a choir blending fine, / a symphony! So divine!" Sanchez creates richly colored digital illustrations in an animation-esque style, featuring lissome, smartly dressed instrument players with differing abilities, religions, and skin tones against quickly shifting spreads: the strings float through the night sky on golden threads, the woodwinds conjure a verdant, idyllic forest spread. This visit to the symphony evokes Fantasia in its immersive blend of music and movement through dreamlike scenes. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

PreS-Gr 2--Like a 21st-century update of Lloyd Moss's virtuoso Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin, this really is a magical, musical book. Musicians of all skin colors and all manner of formal dress, from tux to hijab, chime in from first tune-up to last fabulous note. As the notes crescendo, the entire stage gives way to a dreamscape in electrifying colors of soaring, grooving, intensely focused players, from strings to wind instruments and plenty of percussion. "Listen to those brilliant players building lush harmonic layers. Notes go soaring like an eagle. How majestic! Royal. Regal." The motion of the text plunges readers forward, ever forward, with musicians who are animated, diverse, rapt, and focused. The text at last peaks: "The tempo slows, now more subdued. How unique, each movement's mood. It's like a magic music potion--sounds excite, stir up emotion." The notes fade to loud calls from the crowd: "Bravo! Encore!" VERDICT This is no lullaby--this story sings. Share this with children before first concerts, a primer on orchestras, or even just a course on tuneful collaboration.--Kimberly Olson Fakih, School Library Journal