THIS IS MUSIC: HORNS w/ Rekha Rajan

Sarah Meade, You are the winner of a signed copy of RAJA'S. PET CAMEL!!!  I know you and your kids will love this book! 

Nikki Walker, You are the winner of a Zoom read-aloud session with Anita Amin!   I'll connect the two of you via email to arrange a time that is mutually good!

Congratulations to BOTH of you and thanks to everyone who left comments and is supporting PBJamz!  You guys all rock!

Interview with Rekha Rajan, author of THIS IS MUSIC: HORNS

When you get two musicians together to talk music and two authors together to talk reading, books, literacy and writing, you might as well settle in. This one is a bit longer, but there are so many beautiful connections to family, culture, and voice, in addition to chatting about the importance of valuing music in front of our students, modeling, and lots of discussion of brass and woodwinds -- and paper towel tubes and noisemakers, oh, and car horns!  Check it out!

THIS IS MUSIC: HORNS

This second installment of her THIS IS MUSIC board book series does not disappoint!  With fun and vibrant illustrations, and a surprising amount of content, Rekha introduces young (and maybe not so young) readers/listeners to the world of horns, and then shares some incredible cultural horns, including the vuvuzela, and some horns you MAY not think of when you consider making music! From traditional to nontraditional, with musical vocabulary and the continuing thread that anyone can make music, along with giving them the tools to do so (whether that's a brass or woodwind or a paper towel tube or a conch shell), this book fulfills its promise to redefine music in very accessible ways.

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

This song starts with a drum, just like Rekha's board book series, and then introduces several horns in the marching band and ends with cymbals.  This is a fun song set to a possibly familiar tune (When the Saints Go Marching In).  It would be fun to do movement activities, marching, imaginative play with various instruments, playing drums, non-traditional horns for pretend play, identifying various instruments by their image and sound, introduction to marching band, contrasting marching band with orchestra, categorizing instruments further into woodwinds and brass and percussion, etc.  Full of humor and fun!

Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

Words with multiple meanings:
horn -- a musical instrument, part of an animal, part of a car that makes noise, etc.
blow --movement of the wind, pushing air through your lips, etc.
play -- A story acted out, to use an instrument to make music, to enjoy an activity for fun, etc.
brass -- a shiny metal, an instrument made of metal with a cup-shaped mouthpiece, officers/someone in charge

Different kinds of horns -- Venn diagram, T-charts, lists, etc.

Onomatopoeia  (throughout the book). Listen to different horn sounds -- how would you write an onomatopoeia for each sound?

Features of text -- size/color/font

Adjectives -- shiny, three, different, loud, etc. (adjective hunt, what other adjectives could you use? )  Great companion book LISTEN TO MY TRUMPET by Mo Willems

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Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

• Horns around the world
  • Vuvuzela
  • shofar
  • nadaswaram
  • alpine horn
  • conch
  • etc.
• Compare/contrast woodwinds/brass
• Create your own horn(wind) instrument (see Pinterest board for some ideas!)
• Contrast horns that play songs and horns that cannot play various pitches.

Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1. What is your favorite horn in the book and why?
2. When someone says "horn" what do you think about?
3. Write a story about a vehicle with a very unusual horn.
4. Write a story about a paper towel tube that magically transformed into a different kind of horn.  
5. Write about a birthday party horn that made a difference!
6. Title:  All Because of the Vuvuzela
7. First line:  I tried to play the conch shell, but I realized it was still inhabited.
8. Compare/contrast two of the horns (see the teaching tips section for examples.)

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!

YouTube playlist with samples of various horns, performances and horn songs.
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PBJamz Snack -- PBJ Blondie Cups

These little PBJ Blondie Bites or Cups remind me of brass mouthpieces, so I chose them to be our highlighted snack for this week!  They sound absolutely delicious, and I look forward to trying them.  If you try them, let me know in the comments!   You could certainly sub out different flavors of jam/jelly for the centers.  You can find the recipe here.  Enjoy! And check out lots of other delicious recipes at https://www.thisisnotdietfood.com/ 

Guest Links and Giveaways

Rekha has generously offered two copies of THIS IS MUSIC: HORNS.

Note:  This giveaway is only open for ONE week!  You must comment by 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, October 19, 2022.

1. Winner drawn at random from those who leave comments.
​2. Winner is the FIRST person to comment with the CORRECT one-stringed instrument highlighted in the next THIS IS MUSIC book (STRINGS).

Here are all the pertinent links for Rekha and her book:
Rekha's Twitter page 
Website 
Bring Me a Book site

Here is the Penguin-Random House site with purchase information
​If you prefer to buy from Amazon, here's that link

Reminder:  If you enjoy these books and authors, please support them by:
1.  Purchasing their books
2. Recommending them to friends, coworkers, educators, etc.
3. Requesting their books at your local library
4. Leaving positive reviews (just 50 reviews on Amazon bumps a book up to recommended status.) If you'd rather not support Amazon,  review the books on Barnes and Noble or Goodreads.