Piano Fingers
Age 3+
Picture Storybooks
Piano Fingers is a charming picture book about finding your talent, even if it takes some time and a little help.
Isla and Bea are two sisters who share a love of music. Big sister Isla plays the violin and Bea is waiting for her music to start. With the help of Maestro Gus, the cat ghost of the piano, Bea will make her sparkling debut. Piano Fingers is the latest magical creation from an award-winning and internationally distinguished creator that hits all the right notes.
Resources
Creators
Caroline Magerl was born near Frankfurt in Germany and came to Australia when she was two. She lived on the yacht her family built until she was fourteen. In 2001 Caroline won the Children’s Book Council of Australia Crichton Award for new talent in children’s book illustration for her picture book Grandma’s Shoes (written by Libby Hathorn). Since then she has been awarded a May Gibbs Fellowship and received an ASA children’s picture book grant to work on her book Hasel and Rose. Nowadays she is a full-time artist, illustrator and printmaker. Maya and Cat was Caroline’s first book with Walker, which went on to become a CBCA Notable and was shortlisted in the NSW Premier's Literary Awards. Nop was a CBCA Honour book and was shortlisted in the Queensland Literary Awards.
Reviews
This beautiful picture book is the story of a musical family and two sisters: Isla, the elder, bossy and sure of herself and her talent; and Bea, the younger, trying to find her own perfect instrument that will express her personality.
Readings
This is a book to share with anyone who’s ever tried, failed, practised, and tried again. It’s for children embarking on new hobbies, adults who need to recapture the curiosity and confidence of an earlier age, and anyone who is starting something from the beginning.
Charming Language
Told in mellifluous prose – a violin is described as ‘a honey fog machine’ and piano song is noted as ‘a sound more delicious than mulberries between your toes’ – and with magical watercolour illustrations, this sweet and simple story of unearthing your talent and expressing yourself in a way that makes you happy is one that we can all relate to. Sisters Isla and Bea could not be more different. Isla is confident, sure of herself, bossy and knows exactly where her talents lie. Bea is young, keen and is desperately trying to find out what she is good at, much to the frustration of both herself and her big sister. What the two share in common though is a passion for music and readers will enjoy Bea’s piano playing exploits and will take heart from the message that just because you don’t excel at something new doesn’t mean that you are a failure. Whilst Bea’s first forays into piano playing are far from perfect, with a supportive sister by her side music can be made and piano fingers can be found. Not being very musical at all and having aspirations of one day mastering the guitar to a certain degree – or at least to the stage where my other half doesn’t leave the room whenever I begin playing – I was comforted by Bea and her music-making. Even those with talent, just like Isla, have to work hard and persevere to master their craft so dream big and pursue those passions and express yourself in your own way.
A Word About Books
Caroline Magerl is a master storyteller whose illustrations leave you in awe. Her word choice sings on the page and she always finds a way to construct sentences that surprise and delight. Her description of the instruments, such as the piano ‘a baby mountain’ that ‘gently smells of mouse’, are brilliant and original. I could quote the entire book and you would thank me for it. The story flows perfectly and feels like a dream. Isla really encapsulates the standard bossy older sister, who reprimands Bea when she is learning, while Bea is the rascally younger sibling who is cheeky and erratic and keen to try new things. Magerl has a way of crossing over between worlds – of indoors and nature, real life and imagination, that transcend the page in magical ways into the reader’s mind. She creates works that merge fiction and truth where it feels possible that a ghost cat could live in a piano, a forest of flowers could bloom in a room, and a mouse could sit to watch. Her stories blend everyday life into imaginative possibilities that leave you feeling inspired. ‘There are whole symphonies up those sleeves. All you have to do is… pick a key.’ The onomatopoeic sound effects of her word choices plink and crashtinkle across the page making for a musical adventure.
Kids Book Review
Who knows Piano Fingers with its delightful wit and humour, may inspire a child to start exploring the world of music for themselves.
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