Music Is . . .

Music Is… is written by Stephen T. Johnson. It not only talks about music, but also about the sounds of music, which are put into words. It describes not only music theory, but also the different styles of music.

Take jazz, for example. Johnson describes jazz as “sophisticated rhythms that go up and go down, move left and move right, then jump high and swing low.” Then he writes, “Flip-flop, be-bop, dunk-fizz, plunk-quiz.” You can hear the jazzy sounds beneath the words! It even says it right there on the cover! “Words, sounds, and pictures by Caldecott Honor recipient Stephen T. Johnson.” But at the end comes what I think is the best part. Johnson writes, “Music is… YOU! What is your sound? It’s sure to be magical, for you’ve got style and rhythm that’s all your own. Music is free and music is YOU! Oh yeah!”

The illustrations are very abstract, like music moving all over the place. In fact, this book itself is like a piece of music! I love how the book unfolds into a second type of book that gives the names of songs for all the different styles of music. It is an excellent resource for older kids who are studying music (like me) or younger kids who enjoy reading fun books about music (like my little brother).