The Music of Life by Louis Thomas (review)

Lenny is a musician staying up late to compose his own symphony ("Artists love to create at night"), but he can't produce the right notes. Then he finds inspiration within his own apartment, from the sounds of his cat lapping milk to the dripping of Lenny's leaking sink and the tweeting of birds outside his window. As the sun rises and the world awakes, Lenny ventures outside ("It's not a symphony, but it feels like music") to write down the notes of the bees, the Swift Swift Swift of a man raking leaves, and the Krik Krok Krak of squirrels cracking nuts. Finally, Lenny has a sheet full of notes: "the symphony of life." The text deftly evokes the often-overlooked sounds of daily life, providing plenty of opportunities for young viewers to join in, making for a lively storytime read. The art's wobbly, uneven lines and hastily sketched backgrounds in watercolor and colored pencil have a zesty and impromptu air that matches Lenny's frantic composing techniques. Little details, like Lenny's messy studio apartment with its rundown sink, give a realistic nod to the penniless state of most ambitious but unrecognized artists, and Lenny's eager smile with his exaggerated nose and untamed hair exudes a contagious enthusiasm for readers and viewers alike. This could encourage even kids without musical inclinations to listen closer to the world around them; it could also be effectively paired with Lynne Rae Perkins' beautiful Snow Music (BCCB 12/03) for a tandem exploration of the unconsidered soundscapes of life.