Music from the Sky - Hardcover

Denise Gillard is a Baptist minister. Music from the Sky, her first book, is based on her recollections of summers spent in Nova Scotia with her grandparents. Denise lives in Toronto, ON with her husband and three children.

Stephen Taylor is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and has illustrated several picture books, including One More Border: The True Story of One Family’s Escape from War-Torn Europe by William Kaplan. He lives in Toronto, ON.

Ages 4-6. A young girl spends time with her grandpa, who says he is going to make her a flute. The girl has seen flutes before. She has even blown a few notes through a shiny metal one: the sound it makes is "music from the sky." How can her grandfather possibly make her a flute? It takes a while, but they find a branch, and Grandpa whittles it carefully until the girl can use it to create her own sky music. The flap copy states the story takes place in Nova Scotia, the home of Canada's oldest black communities, but this is in no way apparent in the story. The quality of the artwork varies. There's a soft, indistinct, almost dreamy look to some of it; at other times, it merely looks unfinished. What does come through clearly is the sensitive relationship between old and young. This joins a long list of books that celebrate the African American family. Ilene Cooper
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