The Song for Everyone

by Lucy Morris

Overview

This stunningly illustrated picture book debut about the power of music to transform hearts and minds will be an instant classic.

A cat, a boy, an elderly woman, and a line of students may appear to have little in common, but when they pass under the same window, each are swept up and transformed in different ways by the magical music that streams toward them and buoys their weary spirits. But one day, the music stops, and the town must work together to save the music that they grew to love.

The Song for Everyone is a stunning allegory for the emotional complexities we carry within us, the universally soothing effects of music, and the importance of community. Timeless and comforting, this picture book is one to read again and again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781547602865
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.60(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Lucy Morris is based in Norfolk, UK, has an MA in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin in Cambridge and a Degree in Fine Art Painting from Brighton University. While this is her first picture book, she has been an artist all her life.

www.lucymorrisart.co.uk

Editorial Reviews

A comforting read and a story to share over and over again.” — School Library Connection—online now

“A blend of poetic text and warm colors carry the story from one page to the next. . . . Readers will love this gentle story about a town connected by song.” —School Library Journal online

“Music lovers may relate to a melody's ability to move one's soul and lift the spirits.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A heartening picture book that reads aloud well.” —Booklist

From the Publisher

05/22/2020

K-Gr 2—Sometimes, one little change can make a world of difference. A small town is filled with people who are disconnected, living in loneliness, discomfort, and sadness. One day, however, from a window so high it is nearly unnoticeable, a tune emerges. This melody wraps each member of the town in its warm embrace, giving everyone a lightness they had not experienced in recent memory. For days, this music permeates the town, enhancing the life of everyone in it. When the window goes silent, the townspeople must come up with a way to bring the music back and the joy that came with it. This book tells an uplifting story through the eyes of recognizable characters in a small town. A blend of poetic text and warm colors carry the story from one page to the next, guided by the melody that is represented by a trail of flowers and dots. The muted color palette and childlike drawings imbue each page with the story's innocence, much like the illustrative style of Nikko Draws a Feeling. Each line of text ranges in length from a few words to a few sentences, varying the pace of the story throughout. Though not fully accessible for emerging readers to experience on their own, the text is designed to be enjoyed aloud. VERDICT Young elementary readers will love this gentle story about a town connected by song.—Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver P.L.

School Library Journal

2020-06-30
A boy and a wren join forces to get everyone dancing in the street.

From the tiny top-story window of a modest home in a small neighborhood comes a “delicate tune,” originating from an unknown source. Those who hear the music experience a metamorphosis: A sad boy with shoulders hunched forgets his loneliness; the ache in an elderly woman’s bones disappears; and the townspeople are generally moved toward sharing “food and stories and kindnesses.” When the music stops and everyone slips into a depression, the townsfolk decide to hoist the boy though the window, where he finds a wren too tired to sing. After some TLC, the boy and the wren sing together from the window, and everyone feels joy once again. The music, depicted as a string of dainty flowers, swoops and swirls through the air; they envelop the elderly woman, morph into first an umbrella and then a bicycle wheel, and even lift a book lover to a high shelf. Though music lovers may relate to a melody’s ability to move one’s soul and lift the spirits, there is an underlying sentimentality in the notion that bird song can solve a community’s woes, which won’t be for everyone. Most of the townspeople have pale skin, including the boy, but a few have brown skin. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10.8-by-20.4-inch double-page spreads viewed at actual size.)

This well-meaning but simplistic tale sounds an off note. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews