Clarinet & Trumpet, written by Melanie Ellsworth, illustrated by John Herzog , reviewed by Klaudia Janek

Summary:  Clarinet and Trumpet “were friends from the first note.”  The author explains that the trumpet is a brass instrument and the clarinet is a bit “long-winded” alluding to being a wind instrument. They supported and helped each other out all the time. One day the double-reed Oboe walked in and a new friendship started to form between the two woodwinds. Trumpet became jealous and even went so far as to compose a fanfare for his old friend. In a twist, Trombone “slid” in with his new friend Trumpet.  In a hilarious scene, Trombone emptied his spit valve right on Oboe.  Any musician will know how gross this is.  Flute sided with the woodwinds.  French Horn joined the brass group.  Bassoon joined team woodwinds and all of a sudden Saxophone swings in.  Saxophone has both a reed and is made out of brass.  He didn’t fit either side.  But everyone liked him because of his mellow, smooth sound.  They realized that they could all make great music together and should be friends.
Straight Talk for Librarians:  This book is a perfect introduction to some music vocabulary and band instruments.  The book can shake and rattle like a maraca, which young readers will LOVE!  It’s a great lesson on how the instruments are grouped together in a band or orchestra, specifically brass and woodwinds.  It has vocabulary like crescendo and flat, which any music teacher will appreciate.  It makes for a great read-aloud and could be done with different voices.  This would make for a great school librarian and band teacher collaboration.  The band teacher could display all the instruments presented in the book.  I do think some of the vocabulary needs to be defined.  A music teacher could demonstrate the difference between a flat and a sharp note.  Some settings in the illustrations include a stage and a practice room.  The emotions conveyed by the instruments are cute and funny.  The illustrator did a great job with that.  A perfect choice for any elementary school library and music classroom.  It might not be the best choice for any sort of sustained silent reading because the book is loud :)  But that is what makes it even more fun.  My 9-year-old reader summarized the story as “they hated each other and then they liked each other.”