Customer Reviews

Nana Hannah's Piano

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Nana Hannah sprains an ankle and her grandson comes to stay. He's a ball player, and hates the piano, and does not like his teacher. He has so much fun with Nana Hannah that playing piano is a breeze and becomes fun. Sometimes to learn we just have to enjoy what we're doing!

As a piano teacher, I'm always interested in picture books that feature children playing the piano...I do think that this is a book worth reading to your kids. No, the example of the negative teacher at the beginning isn't good, and the parents ARE absent, but I don't think the author took on the challenge of telling us this boy's whole life story.

The book is about a young boy who has a bad experience with a piano teacher and then is motivated and inspired to play the piano by his "Nana Hannah". At the beginning, the boy wants to play baseball instead of piano. By the end of the book, he comes to understand that he can do both. The boy and his grandmother have a good relationship and enjoy sports and dancing AND piano together.

I loved reading this book which is an example of a boy who plays sports who also plays piano! I have 16 sports-minded boys in my own piano studio.

Happy reading!

"Nana Hannah's Piano" is a children's book that combines a story by Barbara Bottner with illustrations by Diana Cain Bluthenthal. The narrator of the story is a young boy who would rather play baseball than take the piano lessons that his mom insists he attend. But he warms up to the piano at the house of his grandmother, Nana Hannah. He spends time with the tango-loving Nana while she recovers from a twisted ankle, and the two watch the World Series together.

This book is a really wonderful story of grandmother-grandson bonding. I have had very special relationships with both my wonderful grandmothers, so I could really relate to the story. Bluthenthal's illustrations have a fun, cartoony quality to them, and are bursting with bright colors, friendly energy, and nice details (such as the cats always lounging around Nana's house). Nana is a great character. Highly recommended.

Piano playing kids can also be good baseball players ! What a comfort to a youngster who feels he is different from others because he has to practice the piano. A good read - aloud book with active, brightly colored illustrations. Both the team and the music are winners !

I was disappointed in this story. As I read the story I thought it was leading to something different than what is was. This story could be so much better.

First, the attitude in the beginning is all-or-nothing. The hired piano teacher is nasty to the young boy and calls him hopeless. Both illustrations of her show a frowning face. She is impatient with the boy and bangs the keys. Frankly if a piano teacher used such negative comments and was so miserable with my children I'd fire her. The boy thinks he is a failure at learning the piano and at first no one else tries to convince him otherwise (such as his mother or father-where are the parents in this book?). The boy loves baseball and has tunnel vision and wants to excel at baseball and quit playing the piano. The one appearance of the mother is when the boy asks to please quit piano lessons and she says "we don't have quitters in this family". I dislike the use of name calling here and don't understand why this mother pays a nasty teacher to verbally abuse the boy and why she insists on forcing him to continue with the piano lessons (or at least try a different teacher). Why can't a person be good at two things? Why is the family discouraging the baseball at times and pushing the piano when he isn't interested?

I very much disliked the use of the word stupid as an adjective as in "but I get an urge to sit down at the stupid piano". I am trying to teach my children to use the word appropriately and not as a derogatory adjective so I disapprove of the authors use of the word stupid in this children's book.

The boy cites his grandmother as a positive role model and that she is the only one who understands him. But when the boy complains that he doesn't have the talent to learn to play the piano it states the grandmother was silent. In other cases the boy puts himself down verbally and the grandmother does not refute his statements, which I thought was sad. I was hoping for some words of encouragement! Later on she does encourage him and give him honest feedback, thank goodness (but I'd rather have seen that consistent throughout the story). Despite my negative criticism, the good part of this story is of the close relationship between grandson and grandmother.

I am disappointed at the complete lack of presence of the boy's father and mother. Why don't the parents take care of (one of their) mothers? Why is a young boy sent to care for the grandmother and we never see the parent ever speaking to the grandmother? I like stories where the entire family unit is portrayed in a more harmonious manner.

In the end he is playing better and says his piano teacher is now his grandmother. They appear to have a close relationship and I think that is wonderful. Also in the end he is playing piano and playing baseball, when previously he didn't think he could do both things. I wished the book somehow stated more directly that it is possible to do well at two very different things and that with practice and the desire, one can learn and improve skills such as piano playing.

Lastly, I do like to see a rare instance where a children's book demonstrates that a family member can be a better teacher and the preferred teacher, than professional teachers.