Violin and Cello by Catherine Greer illustrated by Joanna Bartel

Expertise in music takes time. If you look closely at the illustrations in this book you can see the seasons changing as these two children practice their two instruments. They live in an apartment building next door to one another. The boy is learning violin while the girl practices her cello. Then one day the boy sends the girl a message via paper plane - it is a piece of music. I loved the way the full score appears in the book. The piece is called The Mystery Friends part I an allegro piece for violin and cello. The two children practice the new piece and then the cello girl writes her piece - The Mystery Friends part II Adagio. Finally, when the music is perfect they meet side by side on their balconies and begin to play. People in the street below stop to listen to their beautiful music. A beautiful moment of a community coming together.

And "that's how the mystery friends became real friends. Cello from a backpack. Violin from a case. The new friends made music all over the place."

Perhaps these ideas are not original – I am thinking of Herman and Rosie by Gus Gordon, but there is so much to like here. The inclusion of the music score (with a link to hear it) and the background details in many of the illustrations. There are some messages in this book but they just feel quite natural not preachy. Here are the extensive teachers notes.

It is the boy who plays the violin (I love the gentle message this conveys) and the boy is wearing glasses as many children do. Their music brings a diverse community together. This reminded me of a book I read recently - The Song for Everyone. 

On the page where the girl practices her cello, I really appreciated the way Joanna Bartel gave her different hair styles – such interesting way to show the passing of time and with her long hair of course it would be in different style each day. The repeated refrain of cello from a backpack, violin from a case also works well to give the text a pleasing rhythm.

If you look closely at their homes you can see the differences in the personalities of the two children. I do like the way one balcony is filled with pot plants and we also see the two families enjoying very different foods. 

The music included with this book is by Alexander Lau. You can see the full score here. And you can listen here.