Music Is a Rainbow

Before Daddy leaves for work, he hugs his young child and whispers, "Son, life is full of holes. You may want to close them up to keep out the storm. But make sure to leave room for that rainbow to find you." The boy's mother's affections are equally ardent, "sweet like penny candy." But on the boy's seventh birthday, Momma gets sick and has to go away, and the child's world comes apart--until he hears a piano playing on the other side of his bedroom wall. Moving through the air in undulating rays of color, his neighbors' music envelopes him, just as his parents' hugs and kisses did, in "a rainbow of love." And instead of joining his friends, "known in the streets as the South Side bandits," in mischief, music--at the movies, from a piano--allows the boy to "relax. He could shine, and he could dream." Working in watercolor and collage on canvas, Collier (We Shall Overcome) blends realism with expressionistic fantasy, and painterly portraiture with a documentarian's eye for detail. The book's watchful protagonist, who is Black, moves through the world with an endearing tentativeness, making scenes in which the boy connects clearly to music all the more joyful and hopeful: "The rainbow had found him. And then that feeling lasted forever." An author's note concludes. Ages 4-8. (June)

K-Gr 3--With tender illustrations conveying deep love and family ties, this book speaks directly to the heart. Collier creates a connection between family love and the power of music, using a refrain of a father's memorable advice in a comforting rhythm: "Leave room for that rainbow to find you. Broken is beautiful." In this context, music is the rainbow that helps guide a lonely young boy, following the death of his mother and his own increasing isolation, through troubled times and bad decisions. Several times, as he is about to embark on true trouble, his father's words wash over him, and he makes different choices. The watercolor paintings and vivid collages give readers a clear picture of the daily struggles and upheaval resulting from an unexpected separation. The illustrations are stunning, and readers will want to spend extra time enjoying their message. An author's note traces Collier's inspiration to three sources: "world-class poet, artist, and activist" Maya Angelou; the well-known poem "The Road Not Taken" by beloved American poet Robert Frost; and supernova Quincy Jones, "a renowned musician, producer, and humanitarian." VERDICT When presented with difficult choices, music provides the focus and motivation for a boy to live up to a father's advice and remember his mother's love in this necessary paean to familial love.--Darby Wallace