SAMBA: THE HEARTBEAT OF A COMMUNITY by Philip Hoelzel

Journeys -- of Books and Musicians and Writers

Join Philip and me for a fun conversation about all kinds of journeys and learn a lot about samba along the way -- did you know samba isn't just the dance?  Dig in with us to find out more about samba, more about Ailton Nunes, more about music and percussion and. . . well, just dig in and find out more!

SAMBA: THE HEARTBEAT OF A COMMUNITY: AILTON NUNES'S MUSICAL JOURNEY

A beautiful story of persistence, lessons learned and then passed along, and  . . .music!  SAMBA beautifully captures the heart of Ailton Nunes and his community and their love for salsa.  There are so many nuggets here -- even in his dedication, where Philip honors his own elementary music teacher -- the value of a good teacher is definitely a present theme, along with resilience, persistence and tenacity.  Valuing and honoring your roots is an underlying theme as well.  The story follows Ailton from his childhood in an impoverished community, through his discovery of his love for music, his own musical education, and how he helped his community redeem their winning status.  Hoelzel's respect for Ailton is palpable.  The back matter is full of helpful definitions, musical instruments of samba and a concise biography of Nunes and a brief history of samba music.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

Check out Ailton and his mad samba percussion skills for this celebration. So fun and a perfect piece to use in your music classroom or your regular classroom or anywhere that needs a little music and a little joy and a big beat! If this one isn't your jam for whatever reason, check out the YouTube playlist in the links section for more musical selections to accompany this book.

​Teacher Tips, Tricks and TopicS

SEL!

• The themes in this book are very well-suited for SEL focuses:
  
  • ​Resilience
    
  • Persistence
    
  • Tenacity
    
  • Consequences of actions/cause & effect
    
  • Balancing responsibility with pleasure
    
  • Learning from our mistakes
    
  • Discipline
    

​​SOCIAL STUDIES

• Brazil
  
  • ​Geography
    
  • Maps
    
  • Cities
    
  • Culture (esp. music and dance)
    
  • Celebrations
    
  • Samba schools
    
• ​​Wants/needs
  
• Timelines (in conjunction with math -- number lines)

ART

• Fashion/costume design
  
• Creating musical instruments from available materials
  

​ELA

• Figurative Language
  
  • ​Similes
    
  • Onomatopoeia
    
• ​Cause/effect
• Features of text (font and size)

​MATH

• Timelines (in conjunction with social studies)
  
• This story includes lots of numbers and would be very easy to create story problems.​
  

​​Tips and Topics for Music TeacherS

SAMBA

• Music
  
• Dance
  
• Culture (Carnaval, etc.)
  
• Samba Schools
  

​PERCUSSION!
MUSICAL VOCABULARY

• Check the back matter for glossary and musical instruments
  

BIOGRAPHY of Ailton Nunes
CREATING INSTRUMENTS FROM AVAILABLE MATERIALS
"FOUND" MUSIC

PARTNER BOOKS:
BUILDING AN ORCHESTRA OF HOPE by Carmen Oliver
Delia Ruiz's board book series on Latin dances​

​​Writing Prompts from TonnyE

1. Listen to some samba music and free write as you listen.
2. Write an acrostic poem about samba music.
3. Research samba in Brazil and write a report.
4. Write about a young girl who wanted to become a samba percussionist.
5. What is the most important lesson you learned from Ailton Nunes?
6. This book has lots of onomatopoeia. Write your own story or poem with onomatopoeia.
7. Write a "how-to" piece explaining how to create a percussion instrument from "found" objects.
8. Would you want to play in a bateria?  Why/why not?
9. Compare this book to BUILDING AN ORCHESTRA OF HOPE. Find at least 5 similarities and 5 differences and write about them.
10. Why do you think Ailton Nunes was so successful with his music?
11. What are some important lessons he learned along the way?
12. Draw a picture of a fancy carnaval costume. Then write a paragraph describing it.
13. This book has quite a few similes.  Try crafting 10 beautiful similes.
14. Write a letter to Ailton Nunes and/or the author, Philip Hoelzel and tell them what you enjoyed about the book.
15. Make a list of the onomatopoeia in the book and use those words to write a different story.

Writing Tips from Philip

• Write what you know and/or are interested in because publishing can be a long process. Don’t chase trends.
• Don’t be afraid to try new things. Just say yes. You never know where saying yes can lead.
• Your free time is your own and it is precious. Use it to invest in your interests, goals or dreams.
• Take a writing or illustration class or two to get an idea of how books for children are made.
• When you are really stuck on a manuscript, let it rest for a while (two weeks, three months, six months) Work on something else.

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

YouTube playlist has  examples of samba music, information about Ailton, exercises for the music classroom and more!

Pinterest board full of samba music, activities for the music classroom, and more!

Guest Links and Giveaways
​

Philip's website

Philip's Instagram

Philip's Goodreads page for SAMBA (for purchase information, to read and leave reviews)


Philip has generously offered a virtual classroom visit to one lucky winner!  If you'd like to be eligible to win a classroom visit, simply leave a comment below! (If you are not a teacher, I'm sure Philip will honor the visit to a school or teacher of your choice.  What a lovely gift to give a teacher!)