Before Music: Where Instruments Come From

by Annette Bay Pimentel, Madison Safer (Illustrator)

Overview

From award-winning author Annette Bay Pimentel and illustrator Madison Safer, Before Music is an oversize nonfiction picture book exploring how music and musical instruments are made—across time and around the world.

Music doesn’t come out of nothing.
It always starts somewhere . . .
with something . . .
with someone.

Discover how music is made in this survey of musical instruments from around the world. Organized by material—from wood to gourds to found objects and more—Before Music marries a lyrical core text with tons of informational material for curious readers.

In the narrative text, readers will encounter makers as they source their materials and craft instruments by hand, drawing the line from the natural world to the finished product and its sound. The sidebars offer much more to discover, including extensive instrument lists, short bios of musical innovators, and more.

“Centering creators and musicians of varying age, skin tone, and traditional dress, Safer’s naïf-style multimedia art gives fitting nod to folk traditions featured in this wide-ranging survey of musical instruments that spans centuries, continents, and cultures.” —Publishers Weekly

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419745553
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/21/2022
Pages:	88
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 14.60(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Annette Bay Pimentel is the author of several nonfiction picture books, including All the Way to the Top, which received a Schneider Family Book Award honor; Girl Running, which was a Junior Library Guild pick and received a starred review; and Pura’s Cuentos. She lives in Moscow, Idaho.

Madison Safer (she/her) is a queer illustrator whose work is inspired by Russian folk art, Jewish paper cuttings, quilt patterns, and the quiet woods of New England. She received her bachelor of fine arts in illustration studies from Montserrat College of Art. Before Music is her debut picture book.

Editorial Reviews

02/28/2022

From cellos to chigufes, maracas to mbiras, musicophiles will find plenty to peruse in this reference picture book that explores instrument-making. In similarly formatted sections, Pimentel’s narrative connects a raw material (e.g., gourds) to musical instruments made from it (e.g., maracas and sitars), categorizing instruments by how they’re played, and offering an onomatopoeic description of instrument creation: “After the gourd dries in the sun, someone... fills it with seeds. Ptptptpt.” Sidebars throughout explain sound generation, highlight instrument innovators, and offer numerous captioned vignettes of instruments globally. Centering creators and musicians of varying age, skin tone, and traditional dress, Safer’s naïf-style multimedia art gives fitting nod to folk traditions featured in this wide-ranging survey of musical instruments that spans centuries, continents, and cultures. Back matter discusses instrument classification and includes instructions for making instruments. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"In this richly illustrated and engaging exploration of the origins of musical instruments, each section focuses on a specific material, such as rocks, clay, gourds, silk or strings, and even human voices."

The Horn Book Magazine

"Centering creators and musicians of varying age, skin tone, and traditional dress, Safer’s naïf-style multimedia art gives fitting nod to folk traditions featured in this wide-ranging survey of musical instruments that spans centuries, continents, and cultures." —Publishers Weekly

"Delivered in a whimsical tone that features poetic devices, such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and word repetition. The impressive watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil illustrations are reminiscent of primitive folk art and complement the book’s content perfectly." —School Library Journal

"In this richly illustrated and engaging exploration of the origins of musical instruments, each section focuses on a specific material, such as rocks, clay, gourds, silk or strings, and even human voices." —The Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

04/01/2022

Gr 4–7—Containing detailed information concerning the origins of musical instruments from around the world, this fascinating text details the materials they were constructed from, the processes involved in their creation, and the sounds they made. The content is organized by the natural materials used to create the instruments; from rocks to reeds. It is delivered in a whimsical tone that features poetic devices, such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and word repetition. The narrative is supplemented with lists of related instruments, biographies of little-known musicians, and informational sidebars. The impressive watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil illustrations are reminiscent of primitive folk art and complement the book's content perfectly. Unfortunately, once read, the newly learned facts are difficult to revisit because there is no glossary or table of contents. The back matter includes an explanation of organology, a listing of selected sources and attribution, and directions for making a musical instrument. VERDICT Schools specializing in art and music may consider adding this book to the library's collection on the merit of its fascinating content and appealing illustrations.—Lynne Stover

School Library Journal