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A Journey to America on NPR’s From the Top

ByElizabeth Starborn

Music can truly be like a candle lighting the darkness, whatever darkness might surround a person. This post will show how music created light in one young person’s life. Back in February of 2017, I posted about the NPR program, From the Top, which celebrates “the power of music in the hands of America’s kids.”…

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From the Top — Young Musicians, Take Note!

ByElizabeth Starborn

Again this week, I have a link to share with you, rather than a book. This time, it’s a feast for your ears. And we’re turning from the hip-hop, rap and South American music that I featured last month, and focusing on classical music this time. A friend alerted me to this NPR program (the…

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Under the Mambo Moon by Julia Durango — Book Recommendation

ByElizabeth Starborn

Earlier this month, we looked at the verse novel The Crossover. Today, we’re exploring another, very different verse novel. Enjoy! Title: Under the Mambo Moon Author: Julia Durango Illustrator: Fabricio VandenBroeck Publisher: Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, 2011 Genre: Middle Grade novel in verse Audience Age: 9 to 12 Themes/topics: dance, diversity, South American dances and customs,…

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Hip-Hop … Shakespeare?

ByElizabeth Starborn

Last week, when I posted about Kwame Alexander’s verse novel The Crossover, I suggested that the rhythms of the novel were often like rap or hip-hop. Today, we’re looking at more hip-hop. This time, Shakespeare as hip-hop. Shakespeare? Yep. You read that right. Shakespeare in Action, an acting company in Ontario, Canada, has as its…