This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. My thanks to Wundkind PR and the publisher for a copy of the book and the ability to post my thoughts without any stipulations. “The banjolele dreamed of singing and playing but never could finish a song, until the instrument’s new friend Valerie believed it could.” Valerie, the person who played the instrument, had to do the believing. If this one sentence in the book description would have been emphasized in the book, I would have given it 5 stars. And this book can certainly open up some good discussions. However, the topic is one well worth sharing with children. And if I missed the point regarding the story, then I’m guessing others might, too. While I definitely found lots to like about this beautiful little book, the story itself fell short. NATIVE AMERICAN PROVERB"Īnd of course, information is included about the four-stringed musical banjolele. "Everyone who is successful, must have dreamed of something.
There are proverbs that promote believing such as this one. Martin Luther King, Jr., and others are listed with a few sentences about them. People such as Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, Dr. Was the banjolele not believing and thus couldn’t play beautiful music? Shouldn’t Valerie have been the one playing? Didn't she lack confidence since she considered it small and more like a toy?Īt the back of the book, which of course promotes believing in ourselves, is some interesting information about people who had dreams and believed. Valerie then makes the banjolele part of her traveling show. This isn’t a gradual thing, but immediately the instrument performs beautifully. "Growing afraid of being tossed out but also growing even bigger, braver because Valerie loved her, the toy finally coughed up the last bit of dust and belted out a GORGEOUS SONG." But because it was dusty and can’t immediately perform, the adults laugh and try to decide whether to throw the banjolele in the trash.īut Valerie whispers for the stringed instrument to “believe” and voile. Years later, after gathering lots of dust it decides that it wants to play and sing beautiful music. When being played with other instruments it couldn’t finish songs. When Valerie received the banjolele it was so small that it was thought of as a toy. But I had trouble with Valerie, the banjolele, and believing. The pictures are detailed and complement the story beautifully.Īs for the story, I loved learning about the banjolele and all of the added information that was provided at the back of the book. First, the artwork is extremely well done and caught my attention immediately. There are things that I liked about this book and things that didn’t quite work for me. Believing you can achieve your dream is a way to be an inspiration for your community, like a great Nigerian proverb teaches us, 'Thoughts and dreams are the foundation of our being. It’s been thrilling to witness that same light awakening within them. Each time I’ve shared this story with students, I watch as their eyes light up with wonder. As a black female artist, his message taught me the power of dreams at an early age. One of the nation’s most historical dreamers is Dr. It wasn’t until I got a call from the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities that I was encouraged to sit down and write it out. Valerie June the adult says of her banjolele: “As I traveled the world telling the story of my banjolele, I always knew it would make an uplifting children’s book.
Valerie names the banjolele Baby and both go on to perform all over the world together forever. Finally, the toy finds the courage, and belief, and love it needs, coughs out a last bit of dust, and belts out a gorgeous a song. But “I have a dream, and I want to sing,” the toy banjolele stubbornly refuses to give up. Embarrassed the banjolele, once more, can not finish the song. The little banjolele just could not play through a whole song! Valerie and banjolele want to play with the other instruments at school, but the others make fun of the banjolele saying " You're just a toy". At the beginning, the baby banjolele dreams that its voice will soar and be heard all throughout the world, but very soon its musical journey meets with challenges and doubts. It has a body like a small banjo, and the neck is like a ukulele. A banjolele is a very unique four-stringed musical instrument. In the book, Valerie is a child given a toy banjolele. Grammy nominated musician Valerie June’s Somebody to Love: The Story of Valerie June's Sweet Little Baby Banjolele is a children’s book based on the story of how June wrote the song "Somebody to Love" from her album Pushin' Against a Stone.
0 kommentar(er)
