This year, JMRL’s summer reading theme is “read to the rhythm.” Every branch will have musical events for your family to attend throughout the summer. Check out www.jmrl.org/summer for more information about this year’s summer reading program.
The library has a large selection of books that you and your children can choose from, but you can try one of these to get into spirit of “read to the rhythm”:
Those Amazing Musical Instruments! by Genevieve Helsby – Describes various musical instruments, including woodwinds, brass instruments, and percussion.
Music Everywhere by Maya Ajmera – Photographs from around the world celebrate the universal joy that kids get from making music, whether they are playing instruments, clapping their hands, stomping their feet or singing.
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Charlie Parker – A swinging, rhythmic, board-book version of a best-selling picture book introduces one of the finest jazz musicians and his style of music known as be bop.
Jazz Age Josephine by Jonah Winter – A tribute to the life of the iconic jazz entertainer depicts her disadvantaged youth in a segregated America, her unique performance talents and the irrepressible sense of style that helped her overcome racial barriers.
39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven by Jonah Winter – Ludwig van Beethoven and his five legless pianos keep having to move from one apartment to another when his neighbors complain about the noise, in a hilarious introduction to one of the world’s greatest composers.
Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle – Based on the story of Millo Castro Zaldarriaga, follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums and that Cuba has never had a female drummer.
A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban – Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life.
Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Practicing Piano by Peggy Elizabeth Gifford – On the day of her piano recital, ten-year-old Moxy prepares in her usual flamboyant way, which creates chaos at home.