Reviews

Gr 1-3‘In Venice, the city of music, young Gabriella hears music in voices, water, boats, pigeons, the "slap-slap" of laundry drying, the "ting-aling-ling" of church bells, and her mother's voice. In Gabriella's heart, these sounds combine and become a song that she hums in the bakery. The baker hums it to a widow, who hums it to a gondolier, who plays it on his accordion. The music catches in the breeze, which spreads it all through the city‘and into the room where the "brilliant composer Giuseppe Del Pietro" sits in museless frustration, unable to work on his newest symphony, scheduled for performance in a few weeks. Gabriella's tune, of course, becomes his inspiration, and he turns it into a magnificent symphony. Not only do the Venetians love the music, but they recognize it as Gabriella's song, and she, too, receives a standing ovation. Potter's flat ink, watercolor, and colored-pencil illustrations are somewhat reminiscent of Maira Kalman's work. A subdued palette transports readers to the streets of a city filled with old-world charm and perfectly complements the engaging text. Endpapers feature laundry and sheet music fluttering on clotheslines, and the back cover displays a map of Italy with Venice's location marked. A whimsical book for budding musicians, music teachers, or just about anyone looking for a good story.‘Lisa Falk, Palos Verdes Library, CA

"This lovely cumulative tale would make a fine readaloud, a fine tellaloud, and oh, heck, a fine singaloud, too". -- The Bulletin

Fleming's (Madame Lagrande and Her So High to the Sky Uproarious Pompadour) tale of an Italian girl with a song in her heart, accompanied by Potter's (Mr. Semolina-Semolinas) delicate renderings of Venetian life, has a refreshing, innocent simplicity. Opening with views of famous landmarks (the Piazza San Marco, the Grand Canal, St. Mark's Cathedral), the book introduces young Gabriella Menza, for whom Venice is also the city of music. Walking home from the marketplace, Gabriella hears "the slap-slap of drying laundry; the flap-flap of pigeon wings... and the ting-aling-ling of church bells." Her mother's beckoning voice joins the growing chorus and inspires the girl's own tune. Thus begins a musical chain reaction in which the tune makes a baker happy and a widow sad, prompts a gondolier to sing of love and, finally, inspires a blocked composer to write music again. Potter's joyous drawings of the city's cobbled streets, bridges and piazzas are colored in the city's luxuriant earth tones and changing sea shades, while her caricatured figures and off-kilter perspectives, in full-page and vignette illustrations, are reminiscent of folk art. Music lovers, especially, will be inspired by Fleming and Potter's passionate depiction of the vibrant city that gave birth to opera, filled with concertos, arias and tunes that come from the heart. Ages 3-8. (Oct.)