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The Green Piano: How Little Me Found Music
“I didn’t have fancy-fine clothes, high-priced toys, or other richy-rich things. But I had music. My treasure. My gold.” As a little girl in Asheville, North Carolina, Roberta Flack was drawn to the piano at church and dreamed of having one at home. She took lessons at the home of a piano teacher, but it wasn’t until her family moved to Green Valley, Virginia, that her daddy brought home an old piano he found in the junkyard. “When can I play it?” she asked over and over as her daddy transformed the “weather-worn, faded, stinky thing” into a grassy green, musical dream come true. “Grown-up me lived this dream! Year after year after year!” A picture book memoir that sings with longing, anticipation, and happiness is paired with engaging gouache illustrations full of their own child appeal. More about Flack’s life and career is included in the end matter. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Hayden Goodman
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 5–8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
20th Century
African Americans
Autobiography/Memoir
Christian People
Music and Musicians
Diversity subject:
Black/African
Christian
Publishers:
Random House, Anne Schwartz Book
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780593479872
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 920 Flack