DRUM CITY

A driving beat powers this simple story of a boy who, merrily drumming with kitchen utensils, summons all the neighborhood kids to join him. The kids come en masse with buckets, barrels, pots, pans and anything that can make noise. The horde of drumming children marches down the city streets, disrupting the “humdrum of the city” with the rhythmic pounding of their makeshift drums. The adults in the city hear the rumbling and stop, waiting. When the kids march through the streets to their groovin’ beats, everyone starts jamming with them. Suddenly, “[t]the city becomes a city of drums, / banging and clanging as everyone comes. / A summer parade, a drummer parade, / a magical bucket-and-bowl serenade / in the heart / of a city of / drums.” Newton’s illustrations depict a multiethnic, multigenerational cast of characters in a vibrant urban setting. This one begs to be read aloud in a music or city-sounds storytime. But be forewarned—anything even remotely drum-like will not be safe for the rest of the day. (Picture book. 4-7)