PreS-Gr 2— Emmalene and Grandma Jean, who are both Black, are dressed in their Sunday best and take the bus to church. Joy written across her face, "Emmalene heard a sing-along song, a busy city symphony that followed her along!" While Emmalene, who is blind and uses a white, black-tipped cane, is entranced by the sounds of the city, Grandma Jean is too busy to listen. Smiling, Emmalene, a few skin tones darker than her grandmother, only slumps into despondency when they sit in the church pew, frustrated by Grandma Jean's unwillingness or inability to understand her. When Grandma agrees to try—and Emmalene covers Grandma Jean's eyes—a remarkable thing happens: "I hear your song." Mohammed cleverly renders sound with colorful abstract and representative shapes against a black background. Sound words are incorporated into the illustrations, with color, size, and case all contributing to the meaning. The story is filled with onomatopoeia and told in rhyme that doesn't stick to a strict scheme but is nevertheless purely delightful to read aloud. VERDICT This would make a wonderful story time with Elizabeth Bluemle's Tap Tap, Boom Boom or Colleen AF Venable's The Oboe Goes Boom Boom Boom; a first purchase.— Jenny Arch

A blind girl endeavors to share her musical perception of city sounds.When Emmalene and Grandma Jean set out one Sunday, Emmalene rejoices at the "busy city symphony" that surrounds them as Bernstrom imbues his rhythmically rhyming text with exuberant onomatopoeia. There's the "RUMBLE" of the bus, the "BIPPITY-BOP!" of a nearby marching band, and the "tippity-tapping" of the wind. But to impatient Grandma Jean, the sounds are mere "commotion"; for her, music is the church choir's "loud and joyous" song. When Emmalene becomes frustrated that Grandma Jean doesn't understand, Grandma Jean valiantly tries to hear from her perspective. But only after Emmalene covers Grandma Jean's eyes does Grandma Jean finally hear her song; in kaleidoscopically colored text against black background, "acorns ticked. A backhoe WRECKED. A truck HARRUMPHED. And birds peck-pecked." Emmalene and a tearful Grandma Jean embrace, and together they listen to the city's "CLAPPING / FLAPPING / tippity-tapping" tune. Mohammed's bright, bold illustrations vividly animate the bustling city, and Emmalene's and Grandma Jean's expressions are endearing; their love is palpable. Though Grandma Jean's poignant epiphany echoes the trope of a disabled character imparting a lesson to a nondisabled character, the potentially off-key note is offset by the heartwarming portrayal of Emmalene and her grandma's intergenerational bonding. Grandma Jean and Emmalene present Black with light- and dark-brown skin respectively. (This book was reviewed digitally.)An eye-catching, toe-tapping celebration of the melodies in everyday sounds. (Picture book. 4-7)