Lisa and I had the loveliest conversation.  She is beautiful and gracious and mellow and it was a delight to talk with her about books and music and writing process and art. The marriage of art and text . . . She gives you a little sneak peak read aloud of the first couple of spreads and a wonderful look at the amazing end papers. So cool! I could have talked with Lisa for hours!  I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did!

A unique structure and a unique illustrative style are very well-suited to tell the story of a very unique composer and musician, John Cage. With a compelling if. . . then format, this book will draw readers in and insist that they make decisions about how they see the world -- and how they define music and whether or not they have some similarities to John Cage.  Readers of all ages will close this book enlightened and challenged -- and introduced to some musical ideas they possibly have not encountered before.
 October 10, 2023
by Lisa Rogers (Author), Il Sung Na (Illustrator)
Publisher
Anne Schwartz Books

I chose this piece from John Cage's compositions for a few reasons:
1. I try to keep these selections short so that they are of the most benefit in a classroom setting.
2. I think students will be intrigued by these sounds.
3. I really like how this video shows how the piano was "prepared" for this piece of music. I think they will find that fascinating.

​There are additional compositions and performances on the YouTube playlist in the links section below.

Can I just purport that we thrown out age expectations of picture books? I always say picture books are for everyone, but some books, in particular, while being perfectly suited for younger audiences are at least as well-suited if not even better-suited for older audiences. I believe BEAUTIFUL NOISE is one such book. Yes, it's a picture book for young children, and it introduces John Cage in a very appropriate way for young kids, but it's also a very informative and easy-access way to get older kids interested in JOhn Cage and then do more of an in-depth study of him and his philosophies of music and sound.

1. Any activities that explore sound would be a perfect correlation:  shaker eggs/boxes where students try to identify the contents or match up ones that are the same.
2. Pitch experiments with water glasses would be a great tie-in.
3. Modifying instruments in creative ways: Blending, adding, mixing,PLAY with the instruments.
4. Listen for "ordinary" sounds and really pay attention.
5. Found sound activities
6. STOMP! video performances (Found sound)
7. Go for a sound walk on the playground or around your school. Record or make a list of as many sounds as you can.
8. Do a sound scavenger hunt.
9. Listen to John Cage's music and discuss it. Talk about what is happening.
10. Any listening activities are appropriate. You can find additional listening activities on the lists/boards for LISTEN. UP LOUELLA by Ashley Belote and LISTEN by Shannon Stocker

1. First, it’s essential to read widely in the genre in which you’re writing. Be
sure to read recently-published books, say, within the last five years, and
carefully study them. When you find ones you love, take a closer look. See
how the author sets up the story, notice any special techniques, such as
rhyme, repetition, or lyrical language, notice whether the ending reflects
the beginning…whatever resonates with you. See if you can identify the
heart of the story—the reason why the author wrote the book.
To find books, use the new books section of your library, subscribe to book
bloggers’ posts, read Publishers’ Weekly season previews—new and
exciting books are everywhere!

2. Read your work out loud. After more than 20 years of reading all day, every
day with children, I can make almost anything sound fantastic. But I’m not
always able to hear when my own writing doesn’t work. When I set it aside
for a week or so and then read it out loud, it’s easier to identify the clunky
parts, what I might be able to cut, or whether the story lacks that
emotional core that is required to not only sell the book but have readers
want to explore it again and again.

3. Share your work with critique partners. It can be hard to hear questions
and criticism about something you’ve poured your heart into. But if your
partners identify a hole in your work or have a question, young readers will
too. How to know when you need to rework something? If two or more
readers make similar observations, it’s time to take another look at your
manuscript. Every revision brings your work closer, because you’re thinking
of possibilities and trying them out.

4. Write not to trends, which likely will be outdated by the time your story
becomes published, but to what’s in your heart. It’s hard to find a new idea.
Yet once you develop your own unique response to that idea, your take
could be the key to writing something that holds meaning to you and
resonates with others—including agents and editors.
​
5. Unplug and spend time observing the world around you. Meditate on your
work in progress. Let your mind float. Keep something near you on which to
write and record any words, phrases, bits of story, or even the essential
heart of the story you’re working on. My best work often comes when I’m
not trying so hard to wrestle words on the page. Instead, I’m thinking about
why I’m writing the story and digging deep into its emotional core. I’ve
written words in the sand and scribbled on the backs of envelopes, and
sometimes, those scribbles become stories.

A spectacular resource book: Russell, Barry. “Everything we do is music:” Cross-curricular experiments in
sound based on the music of John Cage. Henmar Press/C.F. Peters, 2016. 

An excellent article on John Cage and his influence (not written for kids; more to inform us as adults who may be teaching kids).

John Cage's Credo from his book Silence -- interesting reading to get "into his head" and understand why he did some of the things he did.
​
Pinterest board with a few photos, quotes, musical notation, etc. related to John Cage

YouTube playlist of John Cage music

While we're talking about unique perspectives and unusual presentations, this seems like the perfect PBJ recipe for this episode -- Peanut butter and jelly bacon burger!  You can find the recipe here or just begin somewhere and create your own version!

Lisa's website

Lisa's Twitter/X

Lisa's Instagram

To purchase BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE MUSIC OF JOHN CAGE (Out October 10, 2023); Preorders available here

Lisa has graciously and generously offered winner's choice of either:
1. A picture book critique
OR
2. A classroom Zoom visit
Leave a comment below to be eligible. A winner will be drawn from all comments entered here within the deadline (Between 9/28/23 and 10/12/23
​

Congratulations, Jany Campana! You are the winner of a prize pack from Molly Ruttan!  You'll receive a copy of the beautiful book and some super-fun swag to go with the awesome, wild book!  I know you'll enjoy the prize!  Thanks, Molly, for your generosity and thanks, Jany, for your support of PBJamz!  

Come join Julie Hedlund and me as we have a fun conversation about the power of music, the power of revision, and the power of perseverance.    We chat about the writing process and the musical connections, as well as a sneak peek at what's coming next for Julie Hedlund.  If you're a Julie Andrews fan or a Julie Hedlund fan, you do not want to miss this conversation!

​From the opening spread to the last lines, Julie Hedlund weaves a musical story of a musical life.  Word after word, line after line, page after page she spins a web of story, capturing Andrews' struggles and triumphs in beautiful language that matches Julie Andrews' beautiful voice and indomitable spirit.  The illustrator, Ilaria Urbinati, adds beautiful strands that complement the story!  Shiny silhouettes and a reflective "undies" illustration are just two of the artistic highlights in this gorgeous book! As a fan, I found myself with tears in my eyes in a couple places, and closed the book with even more love and appreciation for Julie Andrews and her phenomenal and multi-stranded career.
Author: Julie Hedlund
Illustrator: Ilaria Urbinati
Publisher: Little Bee Books
Publication Date: September 5, 2023

Since PBJamz is all about musical connections, I think this is the perfect music video to feature!  It's a wonderful video for music teachers to use to integrate pitch, solfege, and would also work beautifully to use with bells, boomwhackers or other color coded instruments for young students.  If this one isn't what you need there are lots more videos on the YouTube playlist -- performances, movie music, music activities, and more.  Peruse the list and I'm sure you'll find something suitable for your situation.

I've been using this book in my music classroom this week. The kids have enjoyed learning about her. and there are lots of follow-up ideas/topics/lessons you could teach from this book. I'll highlight a few here, and there are more on the Pinterest board in the links section, and in the YouTube playlist as well.

• There are other biographies about Julie Andrews, so it would be interesting to compare the styles of writing OR the information they chose to include or not.
• Julie has written a number of books in conjunction with her daughter, so it would be a prime opportunity to do an author study on Julie and Emma.
• They have written a series surrounding a "very fairy princess", so that would be another avenue to study.
• You also could do an author study on Julie Hedlund, the author of this book and 3 others : read, compare, discuss, etc.
• A life study of Julie Andrews would be perfect for any time, but especially for March (Women's History Month) or October (her birthday month).
• Social studies connections: 
  • England
    • (specifically maybe the differences in village life and London life -- Chim Chim Cheree would be a good musical/movie tie-in for this)
    • The book mentions singing for the Queen of England, so that's a great tidbit you could explore more in lots of different ways. In that performance, Julie sang the English national anthem, which would be a possibility for further study too.
  • World War II (Bombing, using underground train stations as bomb shelters, etc)
  • Languages (This discussion came up in my music class when I showed a clip of her singing at 12 in French "Why can't we hear what she's saying?"  Most kids don't really understand languages and why they are different. Dialects would be another possible discussion.
  • History of photography, film, movies, etc. -- early photos/videos in black and white -- why? (This question also came up in my music classes this week).
• Math connections
  • Timeline (back matter) -- Crossover with Social Studies
  • Story problems with timeline and facts in the book. (ie. If Julie Andrews was born in 1935, what year was it when she sang with Ted. What year did she sing for the Queen?  How long was it from the time she sang for the first time until she sang for the last time? etc. . . .
• Arts
  • Differences in on-stage and onscreen 
  • Various roles of Julie
  • The music of Julie Andrews
• SEL
  • Accepting responsibility at a young age
  • Using music to deal with big feelings
  • Difficulties of war
  • Challenges of separated parents
• ELA
  • Timelines (Crossover with Social Studies and Math)  a feature of text in NF -- part of backmatter
  • Author techniques
    • Repetition
    • Alliteration
    • Lyrical language
    • Figurative language (similes, metaphors, personification, etc.)
  • Discuss features of the art -- how does it help convey meaning? What details are left out by the author and supplied by the illustrator?  What details in the text are supported by the illustrator?
  • There are lots of forms of several verbs in this book, particularly sing (sings, sang, singing, song, etc.), so it would provide lots of practice with tenses and verb conjugation.  Also, in the timeline the verbs are all in present tense, while in the book most of them are past tense, so it's an opportunity to compare the two tenses and when you would use each.
  • strum(med) and hum(med) would provide an opportunity to point out doubling consonants in short vowel words that end with one consonant.
  • voice voices vocal would be an opportunity to talk about roots and how to look for familiar parts of words -- maybe create a list of related words voice, voices, voiced, voicing, etc. (also the fact that voice can be a noun or a verb)
  • The book is full of music vocabulary and other rich vocabulary which could extend students' working lexicon.
• Science
  • Vocal chords and how they work
  • Pitch (highness and lowness of sounds)

Three tips for aspiring writers:

1. READ way more picture books than you think you need to. Make sure most of them were published within the last 5 years so you'll understand the modern market for picture books. Certainly read the kind of books you want to write, but read beyond that, too. I only decided I wanted to write a PB biography after I read a bunch and fell in love with them. 

2. WRITE way more picture books than you want to. (Notice the subtle change in the advice there?) Most beginners have an idea or maybe two that they're passionate about getting published, but the truth is, you have to write a LOT in order to get good enough to get published in today's market. And it's not enough to be working on the same 1 or 2 manuscripts (trust me, I've been there). The whole reason I started the 12 x 12 Picture Book Writing Challenge is because I knew I needed to write lots more to find my voice and build a body of work. 

3. FIND a writing community. Preferably one with other picture book creators. Nobody publishes books alone. You need people in your corner who can give you objective critiques of your work and know what the writing life is like. They'll be the ones to celebrate your successes and lift you up when the going gets tough. I'm going to squeeze in a 4th tip here too, which is to PERSEVERE. You WILL get published if you don't give up and have patience and joy in the process. A writing community helps immensely to keep things fun and joyful.

YouTube playlist full of great music, performances, music activities, and more.

Pinterest board with many activities, music, and tons of teaching ideas and fun connections.

For a PBJ snack as sweet, delectable, rich, and full of complexity as Julie Andrews' voice, talent, personality, and career, look no further than this decadent salty-sweet treat, which will look equally at home at the tea table and in the school lunchbox. Give it a try and find lots of other great recipes at www.shugarysweet.com 
​

Website
12 x 12 website
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok

Simon and Schuster link for SONG AFTER SONG

To purchase SONG AFTER SONG:
Amazon

Barnes & Noble

To order signed copies of SONG AFTER SONG:
 https://shop.secondstartotherightbooks.com/personalized-pre-order-song-after-song-musical-life-julie-andrews

Join Molly and me as we discuss inspiration, process, and lots of music.  Stage fright and other wild things that can build resilience if we let them.  Such a great conversation full of fun and inspiration!

This book is so beautiful and full of heart.  If you've ever struggled with stage fright -- or really any fear or need to build some resilience, this book is for you. If your child or student has ever struggled with the "what-ifs" this book is for them.  The illustrations are whimsical and full of beauty and the pacing is just right to leave you feeling fully satisfied at the end of the story.  Molly's words and pictures come together to create something beautifully wonderfully wild!

I'm featuring here a young girl on violin to match the protagonist in SOMETHING WILD.  However, there are other videos on the YouTube playlist that focus on the violin as an instrument, discuss stage fright, or long violin videos for ambience.  There are also additional child-performances on violin as well, so there is plenty to choose from if this jam is not what you're looking for to go along with this precious book. 

SOMETHING WILD is a perfect book to use in the music classroom or the regular classroom. If you are working with kids , this is a great book.  It's fabulous for dealing with stage fright -- whether that's reading in front of the class, being on a little stage or a big one. Here are some other ways to use it in the classroom:

• Wild changes meaning from the beginning to the end. At least the connotation changes, which makes for great discussion fodder.
  • Did something wild happen?  Were the results what she expected? How did it change from beginning to end.
• Since it is a very musical book, this would be a great opportunity to collaborate with the music teacher on a unit about the violin or the string family. 
  
  • Sound study in science -- strings, vibration, sound formation, etc.
  • Violin -- reading comprehension (Pinterest board has an example)
• Molly Ruttan was the author and the illustrator, so compare the illustrations with the text.  Discuss how they interact.
• Author/illustrator study on Molly Ruttan. Check her website for other books she wrote, as well as ones she illustrated.
• Molly has a great musical bio page. Discuss why she may have written this book based on that.
• Do a character study of Hannah, the protagonist. Inside/outside characteristics would make sense for this one. (Pinterest board has some examples)
• Find examples of how the author showed Hannah's feelings, instead of just telling us

This book, SOMETHING WILD, is a music teacher's dream, as it deals with something every performer usually struggles with at some point -- stage fright. The young protagonist learns one way to deal with it. Molly and I talk about some additional ways in our conversation. I also linked up some additional helpful videos on pushing through stage fright in the YouTube playlist.  The book is a great segue to talking about performances, audiences, stage fright and other performance related ideas.  I'm planning to read this book to each grade level this year just before their performance to help them get rid of their jitters.

However, you might prefer to focus on the violin aspect of this book, and so, on the playlist I've included lots of violin music, as well as videos that introduce the violin and teach young students about it. You could extend that to discussing the string family (In that case, I'd recommend you use this YouTube playlist.

Three main topics accessible through this book are:

1. Stage fright/what-ifs/performance jitters
2. Violin
3. String family

You also could talk about the author, Molly Ruttan.  She is author, illustrator, but also a musician in her own right. We talk about stage fright in our interview above, so you might wish to isolate parts of our conversation to share with your students. You can also access Molly's webpage, where she has a page that shares her musical journey, including her battle with stage fright. You can access that page here.

Here are some additional thoughts that have really helped me in profound ways, so I am passing them on to you! 

1. It’s never too late!  You never retire from being an artist, of any kind.
2. Use your emotions and anxieties to inspire new ideas.
3. Don’t underestimate the power of visualization.
4. Create or join a kid lit group such as a critique and/or writing group. No one can see your light if you keep it hidden - not even you! 

​Also join SCBWI, and participate. 
Also, my favorite quote from Maya Angelou (for books and life):
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said; people will forget what you did; but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

And a fun quote from Albert Einstein:
“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” 

Pinterest board full of character analysis, violin activities, videos, and more
Molly's musical bio page
Coloring pages to go along with SOMETHING WILD
YouTube playlist, full of kids playing violin, stage fright videos, violin info, ambient music, practice tips, etc.
Check out this episode of PBJamz for resources for the string family specifically if you'd like to dig into that more.

Since Hannah and her family are eating pizza after the recital, this is the perfect recipe to share to go along with this book!  PBJ Sugar Cookie Pizza! I can't imagine a more delicious dessert after a stressful, wild, and wonderful recital!  You can find the recipe here and make your own PBJ pizza -- post-recital, after school, or any time.