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"It's the day of Momo's very first piano recital, and she is terribly nervous. Today is the day of a little mouseling's very first performance, too, and she's just as nervous as Momo. The mouseling invites Mom to watch her performance. Momo follows the mouseling through a small door backstage, where she's met with an amazing sight: an elaborate miniature theatre, and an audience of finely dressed mice! When the Grand Mouse-ter takes the stage, a hush falls over the crowd and a magical show unfolds - a circus, a magic act, acrobats! Momo is delighted. And when it's the mouseling's turn to take the stage, Momo soothes her little friend's nerves - her own now long forgotten - and accompanies her on piano. As Momo finishes her piece and gives a bow, she's surprised to see that her audience isn't furry and miniature, but human! And they're all clapping - for her! A proud Momo is quite sure she can hear mouse paw-clapping, too..."--… (more)
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In this beautiful picture book, Miyakoshi depicts the unbreakable bond between children and the natural world and introduces us to a gifted child whose talent is equal to her kind heart. She shows us that stories are journeys to worlds beyond our imagination that can help us fight stress and anxiety from a very early age. I can definitely relate to this. Each time my students are about to sit for an exam or even before a regular written test, I tell them a story (which obviously varies from level to level) or a personal experience related to a particular issue. It works wonders for their peace of mind. They feel more relaxed and less stressed out.
The beautiful illustrations are full of quirkiness and tranquility and the text is whimsical and clever. Absolutely suitable for younger children. This is one more picture book for my students’ collection and I cannot wait to read more by Akiko Miyakoshi.
Many thanks to Kids Can Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review,
My reviews and photos of the lovely illustrations can be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/
Originally published in Japan in 2012, and translated into English this year (2019), The Piano Recital is the fourth picture-book I have read from the immensely talented author/illustrator, Akiko Miyakoshi. Having greatly enjoyed such titles as The Tea Party in the Woods and The Way Home in the Night, I have eagerly anticipated the arrival of this book, and once I did have the chance to read it, was not disappointed! As always with Miyakoshi, the artwork - done in pencil, charcoal and acrylic gouache - was simply lovely, capturing the emotion and enchantment of the story perfectly. The story, too, was enchanting, with that surrealist sense of fantasy that seems to characterize its creator's work. I liked that Momo's experiences at the mouse theater could be interpreted either as a day-dream, or as an actual fantastic occurrence. Either way, it helped her to deal with her own fear, so in that sense, it was real. Recommended to fellow Miyakoshi fans, and to anyone looking for beautiful picture-books about young musicians, overcoming stage fright, or experiencing magical things.