Yo-Yo Ma: A Gift For Music

Last week I shared notes about a charmingly imaginative picture book starring a scullery-maid ferret and her love of jazz. If you missed it, click HERE. It's a lively fantasy but encompasses some essential truths about the transformative power of music.

THE MUSIC INSIDE US; Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World is written by James Howe and illustrated by Jack Wong. (Side note, James Howe was the co-author for the timelessly popular and fanciful  BUNNICULA, along with its series, spin-offs, and television programs.) In contrast, this biographic profile is vividly and lovingly realistic. 

ABRAM BOOKS FOR YOUNG READERS.2025.

It's never too early to try new things, nor too late. Howe took up cello lessons in sixth grade and gave it up not long after. More than fifty years after that, inspired by several performances by Yo-Yo Ma, Howe returned to the cello. I learned this in the author note, along with more insights from Howe and Wong. The core of their individual back matter notes reveals that they attempted to capture the brilliance of the cello and music produced, superb in every way, but both found the man behind the cello was the important element in each impressive performance and image. 

This is a chronological account of Ma and his lifelong pursuit of music and its purpose. Born into a musically gifted family, surrounded by opportunities to learn and develop his rare talent, Yo-Yo was seen as a prodigy, performing as a child at levels few adults could achieve. I was enthralled with the ways he was fully a child: bouncing like a frog, teasing his sister, mouth agape in the canyons of New York City streets. His aptitude with the cello was transformed into musical magic by his intense connection to his inner voice itself, making the strings sing for the music he felt in his heart.

Encounters with various "greats" over time contributed to and encouraged his development, but so did his college anthropology courses on human societies, his teen music camps with peers, his appearances with muppets and children across many media and global locations. The soft-edged and richly-hued illustrations tap into the everyday fellow that Ma was throughout these various experiences. 

Entirely by chance I had viewed an interview with Ma on a talk show the night before reading this book. In that conversation he was continuing to explore his lifelong question: What is the purpose of music?  

He said this: Music is what's inside us, what makes us human. Not everyone's talent may be to perform music, but everyone does have talent, and that is their music. He values being human first, then being a musician, then being a cellist, even though that last is how he is best known. 

He challenges us all: What can we do with our music, our gifts, to make the future better for everyone?

The timeline in back matter combines with the author and illustrator notes to fill in  further details and invite readers to read more, to listen to Yo-Yo Ma's performances, and to accept the challenge to use their now gifts. After watching that interview and then reading this book, my pre-existing condition (a deep-seated appreciate for Yo-Yo Ma and his music) was furthered. I spent time before writing this to listen to several of his performances, from classical to Sesame Street, and will do so even more often than before. With his central message in mind, the tone in his strings sounded more lyrical than ever. Try for yourself.

HIDING FROM THE NAZIS IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Powerful Graphic Novel

Capstone Press, 2024

I recently read a new graphic biography of two remarkably talented Jewish sisters who survived WWII and the concentration camps through a rare combination of talent and kindness. HIDING FROM THE NAZIS IN PLAIN SIGHT: A Graphic Novel Biography of Hanna and Trina Arshanskaya was written by Lydia Lukidis and illustrated by Aleksandar Sotirovski. At only 32 pages, this slim but comprehensive approach makes their story accessible and allows younger readers (elementary and middle grade) a view of one human journey within the massive historic events of the Holocaust, a tragedy  that often seem incomprehensible. 

In brief, these sisters were raised from birth in a Polish family that celebrated and surrounded themselves with classical music. Both sisters developed remarkable skill at the piano, playing individually and at the same keyboard.Their early talent and hard work made them locally famous and earned scholarships, impressing teachers and audiences.

When German troops invaded Poland in 1939 the family was rounded up to be taken to camps. First one, then later the other sister managed to escape the early transport marches. Initially, they were taken in and hidden by the family of a classmate. In their city they could have been easily recognized. With new names and false identities as non-Jews, they were helped to move to a remote orphanage. Their talent became obvious and they eventually were performing on stage under their new identities, often for audiences filled with uniformed Nazi soldiers. Entertaining them was infuriating, but also put them inconstant danger of being recognized. The later years of the war led to happy endings for their lives, despite the painful loss of their family and loved ones. Back matter reveals many helpful details and allow further questioning and researching. 

I don't often include graphic formats in these posts, but this complex and unusual content, the story of these remarkable sisters, fits this format better than picture book format does. Like picture books, though, it presents content that pairs text and visual narrative to strengthen both,  making their story complete, compact, and compelling.  I urge families, librarians, and teachers to check out this terrific account and use it to launch further discussions and studies. Readers will see their age-peers in situations that allow them to connect more fully with the historic facts of the Holocaust.