MAKE MINE MUSIC!

The tan background and informal illustrated format of the Brown Paper School series lend themselves well to this inviting how-to book on homemade musical instruments. Walther shows readers how they can literally ""get started on a shoestring,"" then leads them easily through the construction of a musical bow, a gut bucket, a lyre, an ear zither, a sliding trumpet, and all sorts of shakers, resonators, musical boxes, whistles, drums, horns, and whatnot. Lacking junk for material, a group can fall back on parts of their bodies, with a rhythm piece that goes something like ""slap, blat, hoot, clap-clap."" Drawings of simple instruments, used in history and throughout the world, are tied in with the ones under construction. Kids can take this as far as they want to go, from the basement workshop to the street-corner concert hall.