Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D'Arezzo [Hardcover]

Susan Roth (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

If you can read musical notes, you can sing any song or play any piece. But musical notes have not always been here. Long ago, songs were memorized. If songs were forgotten, they were lost forever.
Thanks to one man, Guido d’Arezzo, music now can last forever.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 5—Working in the early 11th century, d'Arezzo is widely credited with having formulated the system of musical notation. This fictionalized picture book tells an abbreviated version of his story, following him from a boyhood in the choir to various monasteries to his eventual achievement. The emphasis is on his perseverance as he struggles to develop a system for "writing down the sounds of a song," and to convince the musical establishment of the benefits of being able to read, rather than memorize, music. The language is simple and intimate, fabricating conversations and thoughts that d'Arezzo and his medieval fellows real. The large-font text moves clearly across the cut- and torn-paper (and the occasional photo) collages that fill the spreads with wonderful colors and fibers. The slightly simplified forms lend a kind of cheery awkwardness and individuality to the characters. The stylized artwork ranges from close-ups to mini-frames to broad landscapes that subtly incorporate d'Arezzo's staff. While the narrative does a good job of explaining the significance of d'Arrezo's innovation, it sometimes oversimplifies matters and gives a sense that he was flying completely solo rather than building on ideas already around. In the actual explication of his system, the glossary has to do the heavy lifting. The book's format is young, but much of its content-including an author's note-is aimed at an older audience with some musical background. This is an attractive if flawed introduction to a little-covered figure.—Nancy Palmer, The Little School, Bellevue, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

"A thousand years ago. . . . There was no written music at all." In this fictionalized biography, Roth introduces Guido d'Arezzo, the Italian monk who devised the first system of musical notation. In easy language, Roth first describes how, as a child, d'Arezzo came to think about writing down the sounds of a song. She then follows him into adulthood, when his experimentation with notation met with plenty of skepticism, even after he experienced an epiphany that led to the beginnings of the system that we use today. The words are basic, lyrical, and inspiring, but the paper-collage illustrations are less successful. Roth's wide-mouthed, almost cartoonish figures seem at odds with her elegant, layered backgrounds, which incorporate sheets of music, earthy textures, and images of beautifully patterned mosaic floors. Still, this is an appealing, accessible, and thought-provoking introduction to a rarely covered subject. A bibliography and an author's note conclude the volume. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children; None edition (January 8, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618465723
• ISBN-13: 978-0618465729
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,819 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Susan L. Roth is the author and illustrator of many wonderful books for children, including Hard Hat Area and the best-selling My Love for You. Her books have received such awards as the New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year, ABA Pick of the Lists, and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. She has three grown children and lives with her husband in New York City.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars "Without a ... writing sytem, music could exist only in the present tense", February 15, 2007

By 

HenderHouse (Libertyville, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D'Arezzo (Hardcover)

I never gave a thought to the system of written music or its inventor; the system of notes and clefs and staves seems so much bigger than one person could create. And yet, our system of musical notation was developed in the 10th century by an Italian monk from the tiny Tuscan town of Arezzo. This picture book biography explains the how and the why of Guide d'Arezzo's invention, including the struggles he had to go through to convince choirmasters and others that there was any benefit to written music. A fascinating story for musicians and non-musicians alike. The only fault I have with this book are the torn-paper collages. The scenery and backgrounds are lovely, but the human figures are so primitive and clunky looking that it detracts from the story.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great history lesson and interesting to children, too., August 23, 2007

By 

Karen Dunn - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D'Arezzo (Hardcover)

I use this book in my music classes for grades 4 and above. I found it to be a great read and an interesting story for my students.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Do Re Mi, February 7, 2007

By 

Z. Edelson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Do Re Mi: If You Can Read Music, Thank Guido D'Arezzo (Hardcover)

Thoughful and charming presentation of how musical notation came to be created. The choice of subject does credit to the author's questioning mind in that she decided to explore something that's been around for centuries and that we usually take for granted. It is important to let children know that some things that always seem to have been in existence were actually begun by someone who saw the need for innovation and did something about changing the situation.