Megan Hoyt and THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL

Congratulations to Jennifer Thomas!! You are the winner of one of Kimberly Gordon Biddle’s books!!! And congratulations to Steena Hernandez! You have won a Zoom session with Kimberly!! Thanks so much for joining me and Kimberly for PBJamz! Kimberly will be in touch about your prizes!!

Chatting with Megan about Carnegie, Music, lyrical language and more!

Megan and I are both Carolina girls with a love for music, beautiful language and gorgeous picture books, so I really enjoyed our conversation about Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern, music in the schools, music as a universal language and so much more!  I hope you enjoy our chat as much as we did!  Megan is giving away a critique of a picture book manuscript, so PB writers, be sure to leave a comment below to be eligible!  I'll do a random drawing from everyone who comments.

PB (Picture Book Tasting) -- THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL

Whether you are traveling to New York City or teaching a unit on activism, teaching about Carnegie Hall in music class, or looking to focus on ELA standards for figurative language and literary devices, this book literally has something for everyone.  There are so many layers, you won't have any difficulty finding a way to use it in your family or school. Notwithstanding it is simply beautiful to read and absorb. The book, published by Quill Tree Books and beautifully illustrated by Katie Hickey is about the journey to save Carnegie Hall, when it was slated to be torn down.  I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!  Please remember to support the authors by:
1. purchasing the book if you'd like
2. requesting the book at your local library
3.  leaving a review for the book on Amazon, GoodReads, or Barnes and Noble
4.  Sharing this episode with a friend who might enjoy it
5.  Sharing book recommendations with friends, family, or on social media.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

This is a short performance from Mr. Stern himself.  There are some others included in the YouTube playlist in the links section if you'd prefer something different. This performance is NOT at Carnegie Hall.  He was in China for this one, but it is short and beautiful for those teaching littles, just to give them a little taste of Isaac Stern's playing.  You could certainly compare this to his beginning violin as talked about in the book, and discuss how he moved from one to the other.  How do you get to Carnegie Hall?  Practice, practice, practice! :-)

Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

• Comprehenson
  • Timeline (back matter)
  • Character traits (Isaac Stern vs. Robert Moses)
  • Problem/solution
  • Beginning/Middle/End
• In addition to typical reading comprehension activities, following are some additional topics and ways to extend the learning begun in this book.
• Activism
  • Activisim is a big theme in this book -- a great opportunity to get your students involved in a cause of their own.  Look for a local cause.  Research it, and design a way they can help:  Collecting change, writing letters, organizing a fundraiser, etc.
• Figurative language/lyrical language
  • So many great examples of this in the book.  It would make a great introductory lesson or cumulative lesson to teach some of the different types.  Have students look for examples in the book, or pull them out and let them determine which kind it is.  Then let them try their hand at writing some different forms.
    • Onomatopoeia
    • Personification
    • Alliteration
    • Hyperbole
    • Metaphor
    • Simile
    • etc.
• Perseverance!
  • Isaac Stern had to exhibit great perseverance to accomplish his goal to save Carnegie Hall. Discuss with students all the steps it took him and how he exhibited perseverance, and how students can. persevere in their own challenges
• Other topics you could explore:
  • Architecture/engineering
  • History
  • Musical history
  • Biography -- Isaac Stern, Tchaicovsky, Moses, Einstein, etc. (Great project to allow students to choose one of the people mentioned in the story to write a biography or do research)

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

So many ways to use this book in the music classroom!

• History of Carnegie Hall
• Impact on the world of music
• Biography -- Isaac Stern; listen to his performances
• Learn about violin/string family
• Study the musicians/composers who were mentioned who performed at Carnegie Hall
  • Tchaicovsky
  • Marian Anderson
  • Duke Ellington
• Watch performances from Carnegie Hall; discuss genre, musicality, performers, etc.
• Explore resources for music teachers from Carnegie Hall
• Check out the YouTube playlist for more!

Tips for authors from Megan

Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1.  If you could perform at Carnegie Hall, what would you like to do?
2.  Write an acrostic Poem for CARNEGIE HALL.
3.  Write a "How to" article for  how to be an activist/how to make a difference.
4.  Write about something in your community that needs changing and how you would go about helping the change happen.
5.  Write a biography for one of the people mentioned in the book.
6.  Write a letter to Isaac Stern or Robert Moses telling them what you think about their efforts.
7.  Listen to a performance from Carnegie Hall and write something to respond to the music.
8.  Write a travel brochure for Carnegie Hall.
9. Listen to several performances from Carnegie Hall and write about which was your favorite -- and why.
​10.  Do you think Robert Moses was a villain in this story?  Why? or why not?

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

Pinterest board​ containing lots of links to go along with THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL 
​YouTube playlist with performances, history and more from Carnegie Hall
www.youtube.com/c/carnegiehallCarnegie Hall YouTube channel
​Carnegie Hall education resources
www.carnegiehall.orgCarnegie Hall website
​

PBJamz Snack

After a night at the theater or a musical performance, a late night milkshake is the perfect go-to.  You could grab one at  your local drive-through or craft your own at home.  This amazing PBJ milkshake comes to you courtesy of hip2save.com, and is inspired by a Disney shake.  They give lots of options for personalizing your own PBJ shake.  You can find the link to the recipe below:

​https://hip2save.com/recipes/peanut-butter-and-jelly-shake/

​Or, just let your imagination run wild and compose your own PBJ shake worthy of an encore performance at Carnegie Hall.

Guest Links and Giveaways

Megan has generously donated a Picture book manuscript critique, so make sure you  comment below if you're a writer who would like Megan's eyes on your manuscript for some constructive feedback.  If you're NOT an author, feel free to comment as well.  Just let me know you don't want to be entered for the prize.

Here are some ways to access Megan and her beautiful book(s):
Website for Megan
​Twitter 
Instagram
Megan's Amazon page

To purchase THE GREATEST SONG OF ALL;
Amazon 
Barnes and Noble 

GoodReads page