Decidedly irreverent—but never disrespectful—riffs on a musical masterwork and its creator.
How the self-styled “greatest composer ever!” created the Greatest Music Ever Written Ever for a Rich Dude who could not sleep.
Improvising on a historical anecdote that he admits “may not be true,” Angleberger has Bach himself explain how he created what came to be known as the “Goldberg Variations”—named for the beleaguered personal harpsichordist of a grumpy, insomniac Rich Dude unmoved by sonatinas (“Too slow!!!”), minuets (“Too fast!!!”), or toccatas (“Too toccatally!”). So how did Bach do it? “I took some leftover notes and a dance hall tune and an old folk song or something and mashed them all up, and it was the Greatest Music Ever Written Ever,” he trumpets. “Yes, it’s just that easy for me!” The Dude and all his likewise grumpy, sleep-deprived servants and neighbors are delighted, one of the former sighing, “each note falls into just the right spot in my brain.” Some brown faces in the crowd scenes add diversity to the mostly white cast, and Elio’s broad, simply drawn, loudly colored cartoon scenes otherwise provide worthy accompaniment for the high-volume, exclamation-strewn narrative. An appreciative note from the author citing a free, online recording of the work serves up a proper coda, but readers hoping to learn the Rich Dude’s name or more about Bach will have to look elsewhere.
Decidedly irreverent—but never disrespectful—riffs on a musical masterwork and its creator. (Picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3164-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Abrams
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
Inspirational fare for uncritical younger capitalists and entrepreneurs.
A history of the Walt Disney Co., from Mickey to megacorporation.
Sichol folds in a highlights-reel profile of Walt Disney himself, noting that he started smoking as a teenager and died relatively young of lung cancer but avoiding any mention of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, or other controversial topics. Her real focus is his commercial offspring—beginning with the failed Laugh-O-Grams Films and chronicling the subsequent, more-or-less continual string of spectacular successes and major acquisitions that has led to Disney’s contemporary status as the world’s largest entertainment company. Along the way she points to at least some things that make Disney products and properties distinctive, and she also introduces a basic vocabulary of business terms and concepts, including bankruptcy, mortgages, market value, branding, and (ironically, since Disney’s profound influence on current copyright law goes unmentioned) intellectual property rights. In common with the co-published From an Idea to Nike, the author also inserts a boilerplate section explaining the significance of “Going Public.” Jennings adds quickly sketched cartoon line drawings to the pull quotes, definitions, and lists of “Fun Facts” that punctuate the well-leaded lines of both sunny tales of corporate expansion.
Inspirational fare for uncritical younger capitalists and entrepreneurs. (bibliography, source notes, timeline) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-45360-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
In theory, a fun, STEAM-filled story idea; in execution, not so much.
In this follow-up to The Discovery of Ramen (2018), Dao the red panda takes Emma and Ethan on another adventure.
On a visit to Chinatown, Emma (with light brown hair and brown eyes), and Ethan (who has Asian features) witness firecrackers exploding and are intrigued by the display. Dao appears and whisks them back to ancient China to learn about gunpowder, the key ingredient in fireworks. During the Han dynasty, alchemists working on a “magic pill” made a substance that created a “bigger bang” when heated. The recipe—two parts sulfur, three parts charcoal and 15 parts saltpeter—was gunpowder, also used in mining, to build roads, and in war. Then, in the 1800s, the Italians added metallic salts to the gunpowder recipe to create the different-colored fireworks we see today. This picture book is filled with fascinating facts (but no bibliography) that should intrigue any child who has seen a fireworks display, and it has many likable elements. These include kid-friendly characters and tidbits of chemistry, physics, and history. Furthermore, Calle’s dynamic animation-inflected illustrations keep pages turning. However, the stiff, teacherly text and incongruous storyline make it difficult to follow. Perhaps with a little effort, an adult can make sense of the historical events and chemical reactions that led to the development of the modern-day fireworks display.
In theory, a fun, STEAM-filled story idea; in execution, not so much. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 6-10)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-59702-142-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Immedium
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2018
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