Melanie Ellsworth, CLARINET & TRUMPET, and more!

Jany Campana, you are the lucky winner of a free download of "Travel Time" from Patrick Adams Books!   Thanks for reading, commenting and joining in!  I hope you enjoy the music and Patrick's other books as songs!

And Patrick, thank you for a great interview and a wonderful prize!  Y'all check out Patrick's interview from last week if you missed it, and below a great episode  with Melanie Ellsworth and her new book CLARINET & TRUMPET!

​Interview with Melanie Ellsworth, author of CLARINET & TRUMPET

​Join Melanie Ellsworth and me as we chat about her brand new book CLARINET AND TRUMPET, along with tons of writing tips, teaching tips, ideas for music teachers, inspiration, connections, and general chat about books, writing, teaching and more!

​PB (Picture Book Tasting) -- CLARINET & TRUMPET ​ by Melanie Ellsworth

What a delightful book!  Part story, part music lesson, part musical instrument, part case study of friendship, with a full dose of wordplay, puns, and loads of fun!  This book has more layers than a pan of lasagna -- and it's just as cheesy (in a good way), and full of flavor!  The musical connections are (almost) endless, so be sure to share this post with a music teacher, and check out the teaching tips and the links for so many wonderful ways to use this book as a teaching tool in a music classroom (or a regular classroom or a homeschool environment or anywhere you have kids and a copy of this book together in one place.  I must admit to a certain fondness for this book, since I play trumpet and my husband plays clarinet :-).    Beautifully illustrated by John Herzog and published by Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt, it's a book worth shaking (literally) and reading time and again! Be sure to check it out (or request it) from your library, order yourself a copy, write a review, recommend it to a friend, buy it as a gift for a kid or a music teacher you know.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind) -- Friend Like Me (from Aladdin)

When I read this book, the friendship was one of the key elements.  Clarinet and Trumpet are the best of friends and they offer each other a special friendship.  They're pretty different, but they find a fab friendship in their differences.  It reminded me of this song.  Musically there is so much you can do with just this song - -whether you're in a music classroom, teaching preschool or doing a story time.  However, music teachers, do NOT miss the YouTube playlist in the links section because there are a TON of other ways you can use this book if you don't want to go this route!  The layers, I'm just sayin'!

Teacher Tips/Curriculum Tie-ins

There is so much to love in this book, and lots of jumping-off points for teachers!  
Topics:
Friendship
Music (specifically Instrument classification)
Functioning as a group
Recognizing likenesses and differences (Venn diagram possibility)

Teachable moments:
Onomatopoeia
Alliteration
Idioms and puns

This book is full of all three of those literary devices and you could easily pull out one or focus on all three in whatever way your students are ready for.

There is also lots of musical vocabulary, and there are quite a few compliments and insults hurled in the book.  If you piggyback that with the friendship theme, you could easily have them write compliments to other members of the classroom family. 

In SEL terms, not only is this a book about friendship, but also about jealousy and handling conflict, and being part of a group

Also, check out the resources page on Melanie's website for teacher resources: ​https://melanieellsworth.com/resources/  

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

Full of musical vocabulary! (flute, crescendo, woodwind, brass, spit valve, bassoon, trumpet, clarinet, tubA, cleaning rag, oboe, trombone, saxophone,  band, etc.)

Distinguishing instruments (classifying according to type): specifically woodwind and brass  

Great opportunity to talk about the saxophone and how/why it was invented. (Music history)

The book itself has a rainstick embedded in its spine.  You could certainly have students create their own rainstick or have students take turns shaking the book, discuss how a book can be a story and a musical instrument (what other ways can books make music. . . link to found sound. . .

Lots of onomatopoeia -- especially musical ones! You could build a music lesson on that alone.

Be sure to check out the Pinterest board and the YouTube playlist in the links section, as there are LOTS more ways to use this book:
clarinet/trumpet duets
highlight woodwinds
highlight brass
​and much much more!

Writing Prompts/Author Tips

Writing Prompts from Tonnye:

1. Write about a special friendship you've experienced.
2. Write about a time you had a fight with a friend.  How did it end up? Why?  Is that how you wanted it to turn out?
3. What makes a good friend?
4. Why was Trumpet jealous when Oboe came along?  Have you ever been jealous?  Write about that.
5. Write about a time when someone else cam between you and a friend.
6. How did Saxophone bring the friends back together?
7. If you had to choose between woodwinds and brass, which would you choose and why?
8. Write about all the ways a book can be a musical instrument.
9. Write a list of all the onomatopoeia you can think of. (Alt. -- choose one instrument; write a list of onomatopoeia words you could use when writing/talking about that instrument.)
10. How might this book have ended differently if Saxophone hadn't shown up.
11. Write a comparison of woodwinds and brass.
12. Write a list of all the compliments you can think of for one of your friends.

Author tips from Melanie:

• Become a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI). Check out all their wonderful resources. 
• Read a ton of new books in the genre in which you’re writing. Hooray for libraries! Interlibrary loan is a beautiful thing.
• Attend an SCBWI conference or a local writing conference – a great way to learn and to meet other writers, agents, and editors. Look for writing workshops offered by your library, too.
• Join a writing critique group. SCBWI has resources to connect you to a local group or help you form your own group.
• Follow your favorite authors’ and illustrators’ newsletters! I always have fun reading author Julie Falatko’s newsy newsletter.
• Try a writing competition. The mentorship I won with author Beth Ferry through Tara Luebbe and Becky Cattie’s “Writing with the Stars” contest helped me polish my manuscripts and build confidence.
• When your first book is coming out, join a debut group. You can help market each other’s books and support each other in all kinds of ways. My Soaring ’20s debut group has been an amazing resource and support system for me.
• Most importantly, write, write, and write some more!

Also, check out Melanie's resources page for great sites for writers as well: https://melanieellsworth.com/resources/  (You can sign up for her newsletter there too!)

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

YouTube playlist has SO. MANY. COOL. RESOURCES.!!  

Pinterest board with lots of teaching activities.

Melanie's resources page!

PBJamz Snack -- PBJ Kabobs

Here's a link over at Happiness is Homemade for a super-fun take on PBJ that's perfect for a group of friends -- little PBJ kabobs.  You could serve them at a party for friends or as an after school snack for a couple of best buds like Clarinet & Trumpet.

Guest Links and Giveaways

Melanie's website
Melanie's FB
Melanie's Instagram
Melanie's Twitter
Purchasing info for Melanie's books

John Herzog's website  
​


​Melanie has graciously agreed to donate a signed copy of CLARINET & TRUMPET to the chosen winner! To be eligible, comment on this blogpost by 11:59 PM on 5/25/22.  All commenters will be entered into a random drawing to determine the winner after midnight on 5/26/22.  Stay tuned to next week's post to find out the winner!