English & Tamil 4+ Dance Gender Stereotypes Intergenerational Stories Family Srividhya Venkat & Kavita Ramchandran summary Ya’ll know gender stereotypes are real high up on my list of things that are the bane of my existence and fuel my ever-burning feminist rage that sits deep inside my soul. Dancing in Thatha’s Footsteps follows Varun and…
Category: music
Stompin’ at the Savoy: How Chick Webb Became the King of Drums
Written & Illustrated by: Moira Rose Donohue & Laura Freeman For ages: 4-8 years Language: English Topics Covered: Historical Figures Musicians Jazz Black Culture & Identity Trailblazers Summary: Tippity-Tappity Scritchedy-Scratchedy, William Henry “Chick” Webb was always on the drums…even when he didn’t own any! Diagnosed with spinal tuberculosis and accidentally falling down some stairs when…
The Hips on the Drag Queen go Swish, Swish, Swish
This image was obtained from this article! Topics Covered: Rhyming, LGBTQ, Drag Queens, Self-Confidence, Own Voices. Summary: This is a cute and simple book that takes the tune of the “wheels on the bus” and replaces the bus with a drag show! Parading through the streets of San Francisco, different drag queens are stomping their feet,…
Black Music Greats: 40 inspiring icons
Written by: Olivier Cachin Illustrated by: Jérôme Masi For ages: Middle Grades, ages 8 and up Language: English Topics Covered: Black Culture & Identity, Music, History, American History, Trailblazers, Women in Music, Non-Fiction. Summary: This is a beautiful and amazing book that takes the reader on a winding journey of music history! The layout of the book makes it easy to…
Little People Big Dreams: Ella Fitzgerald
Written by: Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara Illustrated by: Bàrbara Alca For ages: 4-7 years Language: English Topics Covered: POC-Centric Narratives, Historical Figures, Women in Music, Musicians, Trailblazers, Biography, Black Culture & Identity. Summary: Ella was a young girl fascinated with performing and music. When she was 15, her mother died and radically changed her life. Running away from a reform school,…
Little People Big Dreams: Dolly Parton
Written by: Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara Illustrated by: Daria Solak For ages: 4 years and up Language: English Topics Covered: Historical Figure, Musical Artist, Women in Music, Biography, Philanthropy, Feminist. Summary: Dolly Parton is a human that we do not deserve, she is such a gem! This book follows the story of her life for a young reader, from a young girl…
Q&A with Alastair Moock!
Happy Saturday! Our Week of Music is continuing to rock, and we’ve boogied through a whole week already! Luckily, we have one more special music-related book to review for tomorrow. But, let’s focus on today! Yesterday we learned a bit about Alastair’s music, so today we’ll learn about him! Hope everyone is having a great…
Alastair Moock-Social justice music for children!
For ages: any age can groove to Alastair’s tunes Language: English Topics Covered: social justice, racism, white supremacy, feminism, education, self-expression, identity, freedom, and self-acceptance. Summary: Today we share an artist whose quirky, thoughtful lyrics spice up the children’s music that he makes. The well-established genre is refreshed by Alastair Moock’s rambunctious, rootsy rhythms. While Moock is working up a new album titled “Be…
Q&A with Ants on a Log
Ants on a Log You all learned about the album Curious yesterday, so now it’s time to learn a little bit more about the minds behind Ants on a Log! Julie and Anya have a multitude of activities, interests, and creative passions. We feel lucky to have been able to catch up with them and bring you…
Q&A with the Alphabet Rockers
Happy Tuesday! We typically would wait until Saturday to do Q&A’s but during our Week of Music anything can happen! Can you tell just how exciting our lives are? Anyways, jokes about our thrilling lives aside, we are more than excited to be able to bring you more information about The Alphabet Rockers. This dynamic…