Emma Jo's Song [School & Library Binding]

Faye Gibbons (Author), Sherry Meidell (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

Emma Jo thinks she is the only nonmusical member of her very musical family, but when she goes to the Puckett family reunion she discovers her gift.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Emma Jo is a little girl with a big problem: in a family full of musical talent, she can't carry a tune. Every time she sings, the family hound howls right along with her. Embarrassed, she bans Rip from the family reunion. There the child is dared to try her voice, and she doesn't have to stand alone for long. The dog has followed along, and soon all of the relatives are singing together. This Appalachian story is thin-readers won't really care about Emma Jo or her large extended family. The pastel illustrations are mediocre. The color is muddy and splotchy, making it difficult to distinguish characters, especially in the crowd of aunts, uncles, and cousins. This musical story falls flat.-Susan Marie Pitard, formerly at Weezie Library for Children, Nantucket Atheneum, MA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Ages 5-8. On the day of the Puckett family reunion, Emma Jo's music-loving family doesn't wait until they get to the party to start making music. They sing, yodel, whistle, and hum as they tend to the farm chores. Emma Jo just sings quietly to herself because she doesn't think she has the gift for music the rest of her family has. As if to prove her right, the family dog always starts howling whenever Emma Jo sings, and today is no exception. Emma Jo is so angry, she insists that the dog stay behind. At the reunion, with the whole Puckett clan gathered in the parlor, Emma Jo's brother teasingly suggests she sing a solo, and she impulsively agrees. After a shaky start, she suddenly finds herself in a strange duet as the old hound dog she thought they'd left behind leaps through the window and begins howling along. The humorous climax comes at just the right moment, breaking the tension of Emma Jo's awkward stand in the spotlight. Meidell's watercolor illustrations nicely capture the spirit and excitement of this special day with sprawling double spreads filled with interesting details. A pleasant slice-of-life story that will work equally well in a group or a one-on-one setting. Lauren Peterson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• School & Library Binding: 32 pages
• Publisher: Boyds Mills Pr; 1st edition (January 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563979357
• ISBN-13: 978-1563979354
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,138,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A warm, funny, entertaining, well recommended picturebook, March 11, 2001

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emma Jo's Song (School & Library Binding)

Everyone in the Puckett family loves music, plays an instrument and sings. But every time Emma Jo, a spirited young girl, tries to sing the family's old hound dog raises a terrible howl -- no matter how softly she sings! Then comes the day of the big Puckett family reunion with its sound of fiddles, banjos, and kinfolk singing. When Emma Jo's brother suggests that she get up and sing "This Little Light of Mine", she jumps up, faces a whole houseful of Pucketts, opens her moth to give her song voice -- and lets out a quivering squeak. But all eventually ends well when Emma Jo gets a little help from a friend. Faye Gibbons' Emma Jo's Song is a warm, funny, entertaining, well recommended picturebook story for young readers that is engagingly illustrated with Sherry Meidell's folksy artwork.