One Sweet Song

4.5

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Author(s)

Jyoti Rajan Gopal

Publisher

Candlewick

Genre(s)

Community

Age Range

Release Date

January 16, 2024

ISBN

978-1536219814

Buy This Book

In an ode to the power of music and community, this vibrantly illustrated picture book steps out on the balcony for a shared moment of spontaneous joy and celebration.

In a quiet neighborhood, a single note trills through the air. Another note joins, and then another. One by one, curious people are drawn to their windows, doorways, and balconies to support the medley. Professional musicians play instruments from around the world, while others bang pots and pans. All are welcome as the notes swirl and dip and crescendo, coming together to make one sweet song. And when the music fades and this diverse neighborhood is once again silent, the reverberations of unity remain. Written by a kindergarten teacher and inspired by the balcony singing in Italy during the pandemic—with a countdown from one to ten and back gently woven in—this rhythmic synergy of text and art is a buoyant, global-minded celebration of how music connects us, even in the darkest of times.

Editor review

1 review

We all speak the language and culture of music

March 21, 2024

Overall rating

4.5

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

One Sweet Song shows the power of music to bring a community together. I also liked the underlying structure of counting forwards and backward from one to ten making it a perfect book for Preschool and Kindergarten age readers. Reading this book brought back the memory of a video that went viral during the pandemic of a row of apartments and people out singing on their balconies together in one of the many separate but together community collaborations that took place when we were all so isolated. However, this book stands on its own as a sweet representation of community for the next generations that will not have those pandemic references. The illustrations are vibrant and detailed showing a diverse cast of participants that all speak the language and culture of music. Overall, this was a lively book with a good message and text structure to support young readers.