I have an aunt who is known by many as "the book woman". An elementary
school teacher for many years, she works in a hundred-year-old
independent bookstore, and an entire room of her house is devoted to a
carefully catalogued selection of children's books, many of which have
been lent out on a number of occasions. Over the years, she's doled out
prime advice on what books to look into. On the strength of her
recommendation, I read Holes and got hooked on A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I opened birthday packages containing The Giver and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,
which were definitely gifts that kept on giving. At Christmas, my
cousins and I are all likely to open a book from her, usually a lavishly
illustrated picture book that we can pass around so everybody can enjoy
it before we go our separate ways.
This year's was Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue,
written by Anna Harwell Celenza and JoAnn E. Kitchel. Celenza did a
book signing at her store, so this came with the added bonus of an
autograph: "To Erin, May your days be filled with lots of 'swell' piano
music! Anne H. Celenza." Though I'd never heard of it before - which
usually is the case with my aunt's offerings - the book is a great fit
for me because it's about a piano player (of which I am one, though
certainly nowhere in Gershwin's league), it's about the creation of a
work of art (a process with which I am intimately familiar as a writer)
and the culminating event occurs on my birthday, February 12th.
This book reminds me of The Night Henry Ford Met Santa,
which I read shortly before Christmas. Though that account is more
fanciful, delving quite obviously into the realm of fiction, its primary
purpose is to get kids excited about a particular historical figure -
Henry Ford. This book wants to foster enthusiasm about George Gershwin
and his famous concerto. It does so by presenting George as an ordinary
guy with a problem. His buddy Paul believes in him so much that he has
announced in the newspaper, for all to read, that the centerpiece of his
next concert will be a brand-new jazz concerto written by George. Only
trouble is that he hasn't starting writing a concerto, and the concert
is only a few weeks away!
The book chronicles George's
struggles to come up with an appropriate piece, after he has reluctantly
agreed to furnish one. Initially, inspiration seems utterly out of
reach. Listening to his favorite composers, buying a new pen and fresh
paper, taking a leisurely walk through a pristine, snow-covered Central
Park... Nothing seems to help. But then a trip on a train lights a
spark, and soon George is hearing the music all around him and
frantically working to jot it all down and tie it together with the
perfect, elusive theme.
Can he finish in time? Will the
concerto be a success? The answers are easy to guess at, given that this
is one of the most famous pieces of instrumental music of the 20th
century. But it's fun to see it all come together, and to watch as
Gershwin's audience listens to the masterpiece for the first time. The
watercolor illustrations are nice, with a drab sort of feel to most of
them, though some effectively convey the kaleidoscope of sights and
sounds Gershwin was trying to capture with his composition. A few of the
pages feature a border of black with a white design, but most just show
a picture without a border, usually depicting lanky, 26-year-old George
deep in thought. In the back of the book is a CD containing a
performance of Rhapsody in Blue so that readers can hear exactly what Celenza describes.
Because of the book's overt educational intentions, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue
might not appeal to many children right off the bat unless they are
musically inclined, but it would be an ideal inclusion in an elementary
school course on music, the early twentieth century or writing. In fact,
with the potential to inspire so many students, Celenza's book could
jazz up just about any classroom.
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