Review — The First Music

By Melanie Gregg
The Bloomsbury — 11/1/2006

The African forest, booming with the din of yelping hyenas, chittering monkeys, hooting owls, and a host of other wild animals, gives rise to a splendid and powerful music in this innovative first picture book, the very first music ever to strike the ears of our ancestors. The quiet opening rhythms—Padada-pada-pada, Padada-pada-padada-pada—gradually grow louder—padada BOOM, padada BOOM, padada BOOM—and more complex, as lions, elephants, hawks, crocodiles, and buffalos alike come together in a jubilant celebration that lasts for six days. On the seventh day, when all has fallen silent, an unexpected new addition—the reep-reep-ree of the frogs—resounds through the forest, jump-starting the boisterous revelries all over again. Banks’dynamic angular illustrations are fully infused with the life and energy born of this first music. Young listeners will be eager to jump up and participate in the rhythmic music-making this story so successfully invites.

Title Details: The First Music
Author: Dylan Pritchett  
Illustrator: Erin Bennett Banks
Interest Level: GR PreK-3

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