How do you convey the idea of sounds through only words? Marsalis, the renowned jazz musician and composer, makes a terrific effort here with an astounding collection of onomatopoeic verses describing the output of musical instruments and everyday sounds.

[Onomatopoeic things sound like or suggest just what they mean. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as oink, meow, roar, and chirp.]

Two-page spreads contain large colorful fonts for the sounds depicted:

“Big trucks on the highway RRRRUMBLE.
Hunger makes my tummy GRrruMBle.”

The narrator, a young boy of color living in New Orleans, describes a typical day:

“Chrrrick chrrrick chrrrick chrrrick — buttering my toast. Krrrick krrick krrrick krrrick - quick where it itches the most."

The final spread features a veritable symphony of sounds in an implied loud and noisy crescendo.

Illustrator Paul Rogers uses joyful images to fill in some background for us and to add some jazz references for afficionados. In an interview about the book, Rogers said:

“The drawings are hugely influenced by the great Cliff Roberts, especially his illustrations for Langston Hughes’ First Book of Jazz from 1955. One of the early decisions I made was to have the story take place in New Orleans, Wynton’s hometown and a city we both love. This setting made it believable to have music on the street and all around the neighborhood.”

Evaluation: Kids aged 3 and up and/or their parents reading to them will have a blast sounding out the words in the book. They will also learn there is music everywhere - not just from instruments. Additionally, they will add to their vocabularies and word recognition skills. ( )

Takes readers (and listeners) on a rollicking, clanging, clapping tour through the many sounds that fill a neighborhood.

diverse picture books (toddler/preschool ages 18 months and up; music / community).
* Prominently features diverse characters: Yep! Lots of African-Americans, including the main character, and a diverse cast throughout.
* Great choice for toddler storytime: short, rhyming text full of fun sound effects. Encourages participation (making sounds) and has a rhythmic quality that can promote movement, tapping along. Large, clear, colorful illustrations suitable for sharing with crowds.
* Book works well with the proposed "community" theme: Sure, but only because the theme can be so broadly interpreted. ( )

This is a fun story that shows how music is everywhere if you simply listen to the symphony all around you. I really liked how things began, the narrative flowed well with the sounds as it seemed very much in keeping with what a kid might notice in his daily life, but toward the end things seemed to get a bit jumbled with more sounds than story. With several visual and textual references to the sights but especially the sounds of New Orleans, this picture book illustrates just how much music surrounds in our daily lives. This book shows the audience a world that they may not be accustomed to, but makes this new culture relatable because of the familiar sounds that we all know. There are some rhymed lines of text that usually end in a sound. I will say sometimes the text felt inserted and odd. It’s not that it didn’t fit, it’s just that I was so into the sounds that the actual words seemed to interrupt the sonic adventure. I would read this book to a second grade classroom. ( )

This book is about a young boy who describes all the sounds that he hears throughout the day through the use of onomatopoeia. He describes the sounds of the cars, the animals, the instruments, and lots of other objects that are around him. I really liked this book, it was a fun read and full of imagery. Perfect book to read when teaching students about onomatopoeia, rhyming, word families, and personification. I would suggest this book for 4th grade and under. ( )