May 16, 2019 | strande
If you enjoyed reading about Saige Copeland or Tenney Grant, two American Girl characters who believe in the importance of art and music, you might enjoy these other books about the arts.
Fiction
Fourteen-year-old Ellie Magari's mother left shortly after Ellie was born, and now her mother has died, and Ellie does not know exactly how to feel about that. She is determined, with the help of her friends in the marching band (where she plays the glockenspiel), to make some kind of connection with her mother's memory.
Thirteen extremely valuable pieces of art have been stolen from one of the most secretive museums in the world. Calder, Petra, and Tommy are no strangers to heists and puzzles. Now they've been matched with two new sleuths -- Zoomy, a very small boy with very thick glasses, and Early, a girl who treasures words . . . and has a word or two to say about the missing treasure.
Finding unexpected joy in drumming, Melly is excited for her summer at Camp Rockaway, but a series of events leaves her with doubts about her performance readiness.
A single-minded twelve-year-old drummer, challenged by her school's budget cuts and her family's financial woes, must find a way to keep her dreams of drumming alive.
Life is becoming dangerous for the Jews of Krakow in 1936 with incidents of violence and persecution increasing day by day. Twelve-year-old Anna begs her father to leave Poland, but he is reluctant to give up his position as an acclaimed clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra.
Bullied at school, eighth-grader Apple, a Filipino American who loves the music of the Beatles, decides to change her life by learning how to play the guitar.
Seventh-grader Claudia Miravista loves art, but socially she is always the odd girl out--but on a trip to the local art museum she sees a boy in a painting who moves from painting to painting, and soon she embarks on an adventure behind the canvas, determined to free the boy Pim from his artistic prison.
When budding artist Bea Garcia's best friend moves to Australia and a loud, rambunctious boy moves into her old house, Bea must learn to make new friends.
Claudia and her sister, Janine, may as well be from different planets. Claudia, who pays more attention to her art than her grades, feels like she can't compete with her perfect sister. Janine studies nonstop and even takes college-level courses. But when something terrible happens, the two sisters discover they're more alike than they thought.
A boy and his grandfather cross a language and cultural barrier using their shared love of art, storytelling, and fantasy.
Nonfiction
In this study of women artists, children will become familiar with painters who are often forgotten in art history books because of their gender. All these works are striking images, created by women who would not let society’s gender biases deter their love of art and their creativity, and who, today, can be accepted as equals.
Every scribble, sketch, and sticky situation comes to life in these kid-friendly and relatable stories to delight budding artists and eager readers alike.
Through the pages of this book, young readers step into a famous artist's studio in medieval Germany, Renaissance Italy, or nineteenth-century France. As the making of a particular work is described, the child smells the paint, hears the chisel chipping into marble, or experiences the wonders of a working printing press.
Of all pets, horses might be the biggest. To those who ride and show horses, they're just as lovable as a dog or cat. This book guides horse-loving readers through more than 10 crafts, including those made to beautify their horse, such as a ribbon browband and tie-dye saddle cloth.
Taking some the world's greatest art and artists as its starting point, this visually stunning and absorbing book is a perfect way to get children aged 10 plus into art and creating their own work.
Do you think you know everything there is to know about music? Think again! Get the inside scoop on some surprising music industry trivia.
Introduces starting a band, providing simple instructions on how to form the group, write and record songs, rehearse, make videos, and perform live.
From greats like Patti Smith and Joan Jett to legends-in-the-making like Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato, girls want to rock. They want to start bands, write songs, get up on stage, and kick out the jams. Here's the book to teach them how.
Presents the lives and accomplishments of eight women artists from around the world, including Frida Kahlo, Coco Chanel, and Zaha Hadid.
Biographies
This is the true story of Lil Hardin Armstrong: pianist, composer, and bandleader in the early days of jazz. Ahead of her time, Lil made a career for herself--and for Louis Armstrong, her modest, unassuming husband.
Recounts the life of Rosa Bonheur, the most well-known French female artist of the nineteenth century, describing her childhood spent in poverty, her lack of any formal art education, and her famous paintings of nature and animals.
Elizabeth Cotten was only a little girl when she picked up a guitar for the first time. It wasn't hers (it was her big brother's), and it wasn't strung right for her (she was left-handed). But she flipped that guitar upside down and backwards and taught herself how to play it anyway.
When Ella Fitzgerald danced the Lindy Hop on the streets of 1930s Yonkers, passersby said good-bye to their loose change. But for a girl who was orphaned and hungry, with raggedy clothes and often no place to spend the night, small change was not enough.
Presents the life of one of the bestselling artists of all time, from her start singing in front of her father's Baptist congregation to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Frida Kahlo was a colorful Mexican artist who endured great pain and hardship, but used her bright, vivid brushstrokes to express her emotions and reveal her true personality. She created over 50 self-portraits, and is considered to be one of the most influential and inspirational artists of the 20th century.
Chronicles the life and activism of the Grammy-award winning South African singer, including her anti-apartheid work with Nelson Mandela.
Presents information about Georgia O'Keeffe, from her childhood in Wisconsin where she developed her fascination with nature to her exhibits around the world.
Born to a wealthy family in Victorian London, Beatrix Potter never had many playmates. When she got lonely, she turned to the animals in her playroom: rabbits, mice, frogs, hedgehogs... even a snake! From an early age, she was a talented painter.
This poignant picture book offers a melodic tale that is both a historic account of an iconic figure and an extraordinary look at how far we've come and how far we still need to go for social justice and equality. A timeless and timely message aptly appropriate for today's social and political climates.
Meet famous music star Meghan Trainor! In this engaging title, readers will learn about Trainor's childhood in Massachusetts, her early education at the Berklee College of Music, her move to Nashville, Tennessee and her early songwriting career.