The little band

PreSchool-Grade 1-- This visually lovely but unconvincing story tries to depict a special moment in time: the experience of being touched by something magical, mysterious, and ephemeral, that captures the imagination and leaves an indelible impression. Parading from one end of town to the other, the almost too-quaint little band is a multiracial combo, whose barefoot, dimunitive members are adorned with headdresses of flowers, leaves, and butterflies. The band and its music charms everyone and everything it passes. Sage's simple text, cataloging the many and varied townspeople and animals and their reactions of amazement and delight, is earnest but contrived. Narahashi's whimsical watercolors fill the pages with soft, luminous colors, painting the town and its inhabitants with a satisfying hominess. Although different in style, they evoke the folksy small-town settings of McCloskey or Burton, but don't always mesh with the rhythm and pacing of the text. An appealing idea, but neither story nor illustrations generate the excitement necessary to sustain readers' suspension of disbelief. --Corinne Camarata, Port Washington Public Library, NY
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

"At first there was the sound of faraway music," and then six barefooted children march through the town and countryside, captivating the inhabitants with their sweet music. Initially, everyone wants to know who they are, but eventually even the animals are content just to listen. Resembling a rainbow of colors, the children wear hats made of flower petals and butterfly wings, and depart as mysteriously as they arrived, "leaving behind no hint of who they were, or why they had come, or where they were going. But long afterward people remembered their beautiful faraway music. And nothing was ever the same again." Like a melody that lingers in the heart, Narahashi's ( Who Said Red? ; Who Wants One? ) vibrant, winsome illustrations and Sage's intriguing text will bring readers much joy. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.