Steena Hernandez!  Congratulations! You are the winner for Jen Fier Jasinski's episode!  You'll be able to choose your prize: a PB critique, a signed copy of MY PIANO, or a Zoom session with Jen!  Thanks to Jen and Steena for your support of PBJamz!

YELLOW DOG BLUES is a beautiful and bright book, written by Alice Faye Duncan, and illustrated by Chris Raschka. Published by Eerdmans, YDB follows a yellow dog along the blues hwy and stops us at various landmarks and introduces us to some musical characters,  and lots of musical fun!

This video seemed the perfect accompaniment to this episode, as it's a Memphis Blues Band and showing some of the landmarks significant to the Delta Blues.   A 1922 recording that should give students an idea of the feel and sound of time and place for the Delta Blues. And of course, the piece of music itself is "Yellow Dog Blues"  If you are using it with students, you might have youngest students march or clap or tap their lap to maintain a steady beat.  Older students might listen for various rhythmic pattern or the timbre of certain instruments.  Listening for form might be another activity. Feel free to leave a comment about how you used the piece.  

1. Write your own blues music! There's an activity in the back of the book, along with a couple more on the YouTube playlist and the Pinterest board. Pick whichever one works best for you and write the blues!
2.  Write about a time when you had "the blues". What made you feel sad?  What helped you deal with your sadness and eventually not feel so sad?
3.  Research one of the blues superheroes and write your own story about them!
4. In the end, yellow dog doesn't stay in one place. The author says some things just aren't made to live that way. Have you had an experience with a "yellow dog" in your own life? Write about that.
5.  Based on the information in the book, which blues landmark would you most like to visit and why?
6. Listen to the instrumental version of "Yellow Dog Blues" song above and write about how it makes you feel? Why?
7.  Listen to the instrumental version and a version with lyrics of Yellow Dog Blues. Which do you prefer? Why? How are they alike? Different?
8.  Have you ever visited any of the landmarks in the book? If so, write about that experience.
9. Hicks Tamales is one of the stops on the blues trail. Have you ever eaten tamales?  Or made tamales?  Write about that experience.
10. Write your own version of "Yellow Dog Blues" -- what does that title make YOU think of?  Will yours have a literal yellow dog?  
11.  Why is this type of music called Delta Blues?  Find some text evidence for your answer and add it.  Then do some more research on Delta Blues and add more to your report.
12. Draw a map and write about the trail of {your life}. What would be the landmarks? Where would the trail travel?
13. Write about a special pet that you've had, whether a yellow dog or a black cat or a color-changing chameleon.
14.Why do you think it's important to learn about blues music?

1. For craft, read fairytales and folktales to study story structures.
2. For practical work, write in clothes that serve you comfort and/or make you feel writerly. 
3. For inspiration, take a daily walk or hit the treadmill to be in communion with your imagination. 

Here is a great little YouTube playlist with lots of Delta blues music, including several versions of Yellow Dog Blues, along with musicians in the book, and lessons for kids to create their own blues music!

​This Pinterest board is full of all kinds of amazing activities, from other pbs that focus on blues music, to activities for writing your own blues song to history lessons for older students about the blues, playlists, and so much more! 

Alice's page for YELLOW DOG BLUES also has an activity guide that you may find helpful!

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In honor of Hicks Tamales, our PBJ snack today is a PBJ sweet tamale.  This recipe calls for raisins. I would replace those with a couple tablespoons of your favorite jam or jelly. These are not traditional to Mexico or to Hicks. They're a fun play on traditional sweet tamales.  If you try them and like them, let us know.

Jany Campana!!!  Congratulations! You are the winner of either a PB critique OR a Zoom visit from Lisa Rogers!  Thanks for your constant support of PBJamz! And thanks, Lisa, for your generosity!  I'll put the two of you in touch to make arrangements! :-)

Jen's book is fully packed with layers and so is this conversation!  Join us as we chat writing, process, rhyme, inspiration, peanut butter and jelly recipes, and more!  Such a fun conversation with a delightful author about an amazing book.  MY PIANO is beautiful in words and illustrations!  And by the way, we double-checked with Anita about the pronunciation of her name "it's pronounced Bahg-dee/Bawg-dee... the "a" makes a sound like like that in "claw" or "paw", not "bag" like the container."

MY PIANO is written by Jen Fier Jasinski and illustrated by Anita Bagdi. Published by Gnome Road Publishing, this book has more layers than Grandma's chocolate cake!Rhyme, cumulative structure, parts of a piano, and SEL tips for how to handle recital jitters?  Check, check, check, and check!  It's beautifully written and beautifully illustrated and full of so much goodness!  It's a fabulous introduction to the piano, a helpful treatise on how to deal with stage fright and recital nerves, and a wonderfully fun read-aloud. Both author and illustrator have outdone themselves and the results are this fabulous picture book.  It's perfect for little pianists, little music-lovers, little recitalists, little readers, little writers -- and big ones, too.  It's a perfect reminder that picture books are truly for everyone!

This was Umi Garrett's first television appearance. on the Ellen Degeneres Show as a young child.  She does some amazing piano tricks and plays beautifully!

Be sure to also check out the resources section below. The Pinterest boards, YouTube playlist and the educator Guide from Gnome Road are all there with tons of ideas for how to use this book in your classroom, at home, or in your music room.

• On that first page, I would read the first line, let students look at the picture and make some predictions. What do you think is happening? Where is she? Why? What do you think this book is going to be about?
• This book is the perfect book to talk about setting. We get the setting from the first spread, but students will have to use their inferring skills to determine where they are.  A great conversation starter about who has been on stage before? Where? Why? How did you feel at the beginning?  How about at the end?  Set the stage (pun intended ;-) for how our young protagonist may be feeling.
• Prepositional phrases are a natural fit for this book as well. "under the soundboard" "to the frame" "in the case" etc. (For younger students positional words and games: in, on, under, through, over, etc. There are some fun songs on YouTube -- I'll try to link one or two in the playlist.)
• Rhyme, of course, is a perfect thing to delve into as well. For young learners, perhaps just recognizing the rhyme (pause and let them fill in the repetitive rhymes or make a guess at the rhyming word if it's one they should be familiar with.) For older learners, generating a rhyming list with some of the words that are used, or simply asking for  3 words that rhyme with base, etc.
• When you get to the page with "Soon the recital is going to start. . . " how does the book change here? What is this young girl feeling? Why? What can she do to help herself? Have you ever been in that situation? What helped you? 
• When the author says the audience is gone, what does she mean? Did the audience really disappear?
• What did the pianist do to push through her nervousness? (SEL)
• On the spread, that reads, "And this is the show. . . SWELL, RIPPLE, FLOW . . ." why do you think the illustrator chose to put some of the words in the illustration?
• How does the author show how the music affects the listeners?  How does the illustrator show the same thing? Does it help having words and pictures showing it in different ways? Why do you think so?
• Did the audience enjoy her performance? How do you know? Cite text evidence that shows how they felt.
• Math -- you could take the pattern of the white and black keys and have students create another pattern that matches the keyboard pattern
• Science/STEAM -- Lots of science possibilities with how sound is formed, how it travels, how it's affected by the various pedals, etc. This would be a great study in conjunction with your music teacher if you and they are willing.
• After reading, there are a couple of good videos in the YouTube playlist with close-up tour of a piano.  If you have a piano at home or in the school setting, take kids there and let them see and experience the different parts of the piano.
• As a follow-up activity, labeling a piano worksheet (Pinterest board has a couple) or "show me" game if you're standing in front of a real piano. (Show me the strings. Show me the pedals, etc.)

Pinterest board, full of diagrams, videos lessons, coloring sheets, piano-labeling sheets and so much more!  Lots of things here for lessons So many great extensions and companions for the book!

YouTube playlist full of great music, piano lessons, recital tips, performances and more!

Pinterest board with piano lessons, tips, etc. for learning to play.

Educator Guide from Gnome Road Publishing

MY PIANO page from Gnome Road Publishing (word search, coloring page, and more)





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I had cute little thumbprint cookies and their recipe ready, as I thought that would be a lovely post-recital reception treat.  Then I was back on Jen's blog and saw that her birthday is Pi Day and I thought about changing to pie, but if you look at the picture below carefully, you'll see "cake" in the background. and her info says her favorite days include cake, so . . . I changed my mind and I'm posting this beautiful and decadent PBJ cake in honor of MY PIANO's (slightly belated) book birthday! You can find the recipe here. It requires some effort, but looks to be totally worth it, and I certainly think that any day with this cake in it would be a very good day indeed, and it, too, would make a lovely post-recital reception offering.  And, it's beautiful to look at as well. Whether you serve it at a recital reception, a birthday party or simply Sunday dinner, I wish you days of music and laughter to go along with it! 

Jen is a dear fun-loving human being who is lovely to talk to, full of great ideas, and who has a great laugh.  If you'd like to learn more about her, connect with her, or purchase her book, keep reading!

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Jen has graciously offered a giveaway -- your choice of a picture book critique, a zoom session, a signed copy of MY PIANO if you are the winner!
To be eligible, leave a comment below, and I'll add your name to the drawing!