The First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi

by Julie Andrews, Emma Walton Hamilton, Chiara Fedele (Illustrator)

Overview

Featuring the illustrated lyrics to “Do-Re-Mi”, this stunning new picture book from beloved icon Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, introduces readers to the remarkable story of the development of written music. Also includes an author’s note about Julie Andrews’s connection to the classic Rodgers & Hammerstein song!

Centuries ago, a young Italian monk named Guido longed to find a way to write and teach music. Eventually, he created the musical scale, using the words Do-Re-Mi-Fa-Sol-La-Ti-Do...one syllable for each note. Though the other monks thought it was a waste of time, Guido's music couldn't be silenced. His discovery remains the foundation for learning music today, and inspired the famous song “Do-Re-Mi,” which Julie Andrews sang in the beloved movie The Sound of Music.

This richly illustrated picture book from beloved icon Julie Andrews and her daughter, bestselling author Emma Walton Hamilton, introduces readers to the remarkable story of Guido d’Arezzo’s development of musical notation. In addition to the lyrics of "Do-Re-Mi" illustrated in full color, the backmatter includes an author’s note, extensive historical notes, and a glossary.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316265904
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	11/01/2022
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	35,439
Product dimensions:	11.00(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Julie Andrews has a legendary career that encompasses the Broadway and London stages, as well as multiple films, television shows, album releases, concert tours, directing assignments, and the world of children’s publishing. In 2000 the title of Dame Commander of the British Empire was bestowed upon her by Queen Elizabeth II for lifetime achievements in the arts and humanities. She was married to film director Blake Edwards for forty-one years, and the couple have five children, ten grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. She invites you to visit her online at @julieandrews on both Instagram and Twitter.

Emma Walton Hamilton is an award-winning writer, producer, and arts educator. Together with her mother, Julie Andrews, she has written over thirty-five books for children and young adults, including the New York Times bestselling Very Fairy Princess series, Waiting in the Wings, and The First Notes: The Story of Do, Re, Mi. Her first book of poetry, Door to Door, was published in 2022. Emma is a longtime faculty member of Stony Brook University’s MFA in Creative Writing and invites you to visit her online at @ewhamilton on both Instagram and Twitter.

Chiara Fedele was born in Milan, Italy. She has a degree in Illustration from La Scuola del Fumetto in Milan, and has illustrated numerous picture books and received several awards, such as the 3×3 international illustration award merit in 2019. She currently lives in Italy with her family and pets.  

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

Musical theater tie-ins and a moving underdog story couch an introduction to music theory in this picture book about Benedictine monk Guido d’Arezzo (c. 990–1050). From his youth in a monastery school, Guido “heard music everywhere,” from the chiming chapel bells to the “buzz and hum of bees and crickets.” Pondering an easier way to teach, the maturing student, who wonders why music couldn’t be written and read, invents a system of musical notation, only to clash with closed-minded teachers. By turns excited, heavyhearted, amazed, and grateful, Guido perseveres, and his “revolutionary ideas” spread throughout medieval Europe—reaching forward to today. Andrews and Hamilton’s step-by-step prose, and Fedele’s colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor illustrations of vibrant Italian landscapes and expressive, white-cued figures successfully combine to evoke strong emotions around Guido’s eventual success. Back matter includes a creator’s note and glossary. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

* "A charming collaboration that strikes just the right notes."—Kirkus Reviews

* "Gentle yet expressive illustrations pay tribute to these accomplishments with square patterns, illuminated manuscripts, and other cultural details from the time period. Note-able, indeed!"—Booklist

"Andrews and Hamilton’s step-by-step prose, and Fedele’s colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor illustrations of vibrant Italian landscapes…successfully combine to evoke strong emotions around Guido’s eventual success."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

02/24/2023

Gr 1–3—Economically recapping the story of the musical monk, Guido, who came to realize that there were just six (then seven) notes that comprised all of music, and therefore all the hymns that previously had seemed impossible to teach and learn, Andrews and Hamilton have room to include the lyrics to "Do-Re-Mi," a tribute to Rogers and Hammerstein, and a glossary. It's best to just tumble along with the storytelling, which goes between invented moments ("His heart beat faster as he drew lines between and through the marks, as if they were climbing a ladder,") and supposition ("Guido surely would have forgiven them—grateful to have realized his dream of teaching music and to have made its joys easier for people to learn"). What the authors create is a basis for explaining how the musical code was cracked and then made available to everyone by the monk's discovery. The scenes of the Italian countryside are gentle and help place this historically for young readers. VERDICT An enjoyable glimpse of history delivered with a spoonful of sugar, and why not?—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

★ 2022-08-31
Actor Andrews and her daughter Walton Hamilton offer an account of the 11th-century monk who invented Solfège, which in turn became the modern system of musical staff notation.

Introducing Guido d’Arezzo as a small boy in Pomposa, Italy, the writers gracefully weave in details about his education in the monastery and the sounds that surrounded him. Finding it hard to memorize the hymns, he devised a notation system to make learning easier, using the six syllables that began the lines of a familiar hymn (“ut,” “re,” “mi,” “fa,” “sol," “la”). Though his teachers dismissed his ideas, he drew on them when he trained the choir at the cathedral of Arezzo, and his methods proved so successful he was invited to Rome by the pope. The book concludes by explaining that Guido’s notes changed over time; “ut” became “do,” and the seventh note, “ti,” was added later. This leads smoothly into illustrated scenes of monastery life accompanied by the lyrics of the Rodgers and Hammerstein song made famous by Andrews’ performance in the film version of their musical The Sound of Music. Fedele’s playful art, done in watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, expresses contrasting moods beautifully and adds context. Extensive backmatter makes this useful for an even older audience. Even libraries still owning Susan Roth’s Do, Re, Mi (2007) will want this richer depiction. The characters present as White. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A charming collaboration that strikes just the right notes. (note about the song, glossary, details on Guido’s life in the abbey, information on the Guidonian Hand, historical note) (Informational picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews