65. Before Music: Where Instruments Come From

Before Music: Where Instruments Come From. Annette Bay Pimentel. Illustrated by Madison Safer. 2022. [June] 88 pages. [Source: Review copy]

First sentence: Music doesn't come out of nothing. It always starts somewhere... Before music, water drip...drip...drips. It washes away soil and eventually fractures the rock underneath. Someone selects a few of the stones....and strikes their edges tink tink tink listening as he shapes the stone. He is making... a rock gong.

Premise/plot: Before Music is a global exploration of the history of musical instruments and music. It is arranged according to the materials from which the instruments are made. (Of course, some instruments are made from multiple materials. Probably many are made from multiple materials). This over-sized picture book (trust me, it is VERY oversize), also spans time--thousands and thousands and thousands of years. 

My thoughts: So much information is packed into this picture book. Proof that you should never make a quick judgement about picture books and who they are written for. I think music lovers of all ages will find something of interest in this one. 

If I could change one thing about this one, I think it would have been super helpful if it had had a table of contents. The book is clearly organized and arranged in a specific order. There was method involved. 

If I could amend that to changing TWO things about this one, I would add that it would have been great if it had had page numbers. Those two things would have gone a long way in making this one more useful as a reference book. 

When I say reference book, I don't mean it a negative way. I don't mean "boring" or "dull" or even "taste specific." I mean that it is packed with so much information that one can keep coming back to it again and again and absorbing it at your own pace. 

The general arrangement

ROCKS
FOUND OBJECTS
CLAY
GOURDS
STRINGS
METAL
WOOD
REEDS
FLEXIBLE SHEETS (leather, felt, etc.)
HUMAN VOICE

I think for the right reader this one could be fascinating. I wish it had a few more helps in it. Pronunciation guide for instruments (since it spans the globe and spans time). Sure everyone knows how to say drum or piano or saxophone, but there are hundreds of instruments that will be brand new to readers (no matter your age). 

© 2022 Becky Laney of Young Readers