OUR JOYFUL NOISE by Gabriele Davis

Childhood Experiences, Music, Memories and How it All Weaves Together

Gabriele, who is my agent-sister (Shout-out to our amazing agent, Joyce Sweeney of Seymour Agency!!!!) and I chat writing, publishing, childhood memories, gospel music,  spirituals, jazz standards, some trombone-love, and much more!  Join us for a fun conversation about how this beautiful book came to be and the music inside!

OUR JOYFUL NOISE by Gabriele Davis

OUR JOYFUL NOISE by Gabriele Davis, beautifully illustrated by Craig Stanley and published by Atheneum is chock-full of onomatopoeia that celebrates the music of everyday living as well as the music that tells the history of our lives.  Music weaves its way through this family's days, weeks, and all the time they spend together. "Hidden" throughout the text are black spirituals, gospel songs, jazz standards, and more music. I especially love that the back matter includes a list and some historical information for each of those hidden gems.  Trombonists will especially appreciate a little extra exposure in this musical journey through a family's time together.  You'll be singing in your head and tapping your feet, too.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

As I mention in the video, this is one of my favorite songs of all time.  Louis' version especially makes me smile.  The visuals in this video are sweet and perfect for kids to enjoy. There are several other versions if you'd prefer something different. Check out the YouTube playlist with much of the music, information about the trombone, and more. It's in the links section.

Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics
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Reading/Literacy

• Word play (hidden gems -- song titles or phrases from lyrics hidden in the text)
  • Scavenger hunt
• Parts of speech
  • Verbs/Subject-verb agreement/Verb endings
  • Adjectives
  • Prepositional phrases
  • Onomatopoeia
• Features of text 
  • Bold print words
  • Larger font

Social Studies

• History of black music
  • Hymns
  • Spirituals
  • Jazz standards
• Community/family/church
  
  • Roles/responsibilities
    
  • Working together toward a common purpose
    
  • Work ethic

SEL

• Chores/responsibility
• Balance of work, play, physical activity, healthy eating, etc.
• Self-care (music, physical activity, church/spirituality, etc.)

Cooking

• Oatmeal/berries
• Cinnamon buns
• Roast
• Green beans
• Potatoes

Tips and Topics for Music Teachers
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History of Music and/or Genres (back matter "Hidden Gems")

• Black spirituals
• Gospel
• Hymns
• Jazz
• Showtunes

Vocabulary

• Soft
• Low
• Slow
• Loud
• Humming
• Bass
• Maraca (seeds)
• Singing
• Steady (schooltime) beat
• Jazzy tunes
• Harmony
• Riff
• Rhythms
• Notes
• Trombone
• Happy-dance
• Jam
• Whistling
• Praise
• High notes
• Hallelujahs
• Chorus

Different purposes of music/How people express themselves with music

• Self-care
• Religion/Spirituality
• Comfort/calm/rest
• Dancing
• Performing
• Entertainment
• Setting a pace
• Community

Instruments Mentioned (or pictured)

• Trombone
• Maraca (seeds)
  

• Trumpet
• (Snare) Drum
• Saxophone
• (Conga) Drum
• Voice (singing)

Hearing Music in the everyday

• Sound scavenger hunt
  
• Listen for onomatopoeia
  
• Sound walk
  
• Sound journal
  

​Writing Prompts from Tonnye
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1. This story is full of word play using titles and phrases from songs. Use a few of your favorite songs and see if you can hide some gems from your songs in a story.
2. Choose your favorite instrument from the story and write your own story about you playing that instrument.
3. Write about an experience you had in church with music.
4. Listen to some samples of black spirituals, gospel songs, hymns, jazz standards, and showtunes. Which genre/type of music is your favorite? Why?
5. This family experiences music throughout their days. Keep a music/sound journal for a week and write about all the sounds you and your family experience in a week.  Where does music show up in your life that surprises you?
6. Do a sound walk -- listen for all the sounds and see if you can make a list of words that demonstrate those sounds (onomatopoeia).  See how many onomatopoeia words you can put into a story.
7. The author shows this family living a very balanced life: work and play, spiritual and secular(non-spiritual) activities, healthy food and sweet treats, etc.  Do you live a balanced life?  What areas would you like to improve?  What areas do you lean into too much?
8. Music is used for many different purposes for this family: worship/praise, entertainment, setting a pace for their activities, comfort, togetherness, etc.  What are some different ways you use music in your life?
9. First line: Music is important to me because. . . .
10. The little girl in this story plays the trombone. If you could play any instrument, which would you play and why?
11. This family cooks/eats together several times in this story. What is your favorite meal to enjoy with your family?
12. Have you ever cooked with someone?  Write about that experience.
13. Make a list of chores you do at home. Which ones do you enjoy?  Which ones are hard for you?  Write about your chores.
14. Choose one of the songs in the "Hidden Gems" back matter and write about that song: the history, the genre, how it was used, why it was important, etc.
15. Why do you think the author titled this story OUR JOYFUL NOISE?  
16. Write your own story called OUR JOYFUL NOISE. Make it about something completely different than this author wrote about.
17. Do you like to listen to music while you work?  Why or why not?
18. Write a letter to the person who wrote one of the songs in this story.  What important things would you tell them?
19. Write a letter to the author telling her at least three things you like about this story.
20. Has anyone ever sung to you?  Write about that experience.

Writing Tips from Gabriele

When an idea comes, don’t wait. Get your thoughts down on paper before they slip away. Silence your internal editor and just write. Don’t worry about making sense or organizing. That can come later.

If you’re not already in a critique group, find one (or two)! Critique partners not only help improve your writing, they offer essential support during the challenging—and exciting—parts of this unpredictable journey.

Read, read, read. For mentor texts, but also to train your ear.  And because you never know when something you read will spark a new idea. 

Eliminate forms of “to be” as much as possible. Use active verbs and specific nouns. Use only a sprinkling of adjectives and adverbs—or none at all. Unless you’re doing it intentionally, avoid repetition. 

Have fun! If appropriate, try out word puns, playful phrases, repeating lines. Experiment with structure, point of view, tense. Use unexpected line breaks, to manipulate the rhythm.

Commit to the journey! Know it could take a while. Know that you’ll likely face rejection. Know that there’s A LOT of waiting (even when good stuff is happening). If you give up, you’ll never know what might have been.

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
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This Pinterest board is full of ideas for classroom study, Bible class, music classroom, coloring sheets, crafts and more!

Spotify playlist, curated by Gabriele, with her favorite versions of the songs in the book!

YouTube playlist, curated by me, with tons of music perfect for teachers to share, but also information about the trombone and some of these "gems" performed on trombone, and lots more pieces to help you fully explore and experience this beautiful book.

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PBJamz Snack
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In this story, Mama stirs sweet berries into oatmeal for breakfast, so I thought this peanut butter berry oatmeal was the perfect PBJamz  recipe for this episode.  Find the link for the recipe here, along with options for more peanut butter and other ways to change it up.  Happy PB breakfasting!

Guest Links and Giveaways
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Gabriele's website

​Books page with testimonials, order links and more.

Follow Gabriele and stay in touch:
Twitter/X link
Instagram

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!
Gabriele is giving away a copy of OUR JOYFUL NOISE! To be eligible, leave a comment below by 11:59 PM EST on Wednesday October 30, and you will be entered in a drawing.  (US only for the giveaway.)

Please leave reviews for Gabriele's books on Goodreads, Amazon and B&N if you enjoy them.