Here Comes the Band by Shadra Strickland

I was super excited to get my hands on today's read. Marching bands are so amazing, and it's so fun to see them coming onto the field before a game, at a pep rally, or in the parades. It's really a treat to hear one play and watch the musicians...and the rest, too. So fun! I'm hoping this book carries that same energy. 

HERE COMES THE BAND

by Shadra Strickland

Illustrated by John Holyfield

Denene Millner Books

Picture Book

42 pages

ages 4 to 8

COMING SEPTEMBER 19th!!!

From Ezra Jack Keats Award and Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award winner Shadra Strickland comes a dazzling picture book about a young child who watches in awe as an HBCU band takes the field and works its magic.

The game is tied at seven.
A hush falls over the stands.
Get up and stand up, everybody!
Here comes the band!

Everyone has their favorite part of a football game, but at a historically Black college or university, halftime is game time when the band takes the field in this glorious celebration of the tradition and pageantry of an HBCU band.

GOODREADS    /    AMAZON

MY TIDBITS

Get ready to smile because these pages promise tons and tons good vibes.

This is a read, which really digs into the atmosphere of a marching band and lets it come across masterfully. The illustrations aren't only bright and bold, but they bring the musicians to life. From backward bends to astound to radiate glows on the expressions...even the concentrated looks make a listener wish they could run alongside this group and enjoy every moment with them.

The text carries lyrical style to fit right into the musical flow. It's never forced but slides along as effortlessly as the illustrations. The author incorporates all sorts of sound words and rhythm to let the beats hit and the imagination soar. This also allows listeners to get involved and 'read' right along with the tale. 

I'm also glad to see a picture book surrounding this theme and bringing across the same atmosphere that these bands hold in real life. It's a subject which inspires and opens the door to the fun possibilities music holds...one that is often forgotten.

This works great as a read-aloud and not a calm one. Even reluctant listeners are sure to enjoy it and dream of marching right along with this group themselves one day.

And here they are...

Shadra Strickland was raised in Atlanta. She graduated from Syracuse University and later completed her MFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Shadra won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her illustrations in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, written by Michelle Cook and winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She has published with Lee and Low Books, Simon & Schuster, Random House, Candlewick, Chronicle Books, and Little Brown. Her books have received recognition from the American Library Association, Junior Library Guild, and other prominent literary lists. Shadra currently heads the illustration department at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. She has also developed an online picture book class on Craftsy.com. Visit her online at ShadraStrickland.com.

John Holyfield is a renowned fine artist and illustrator of numerous books for young readers, including Belle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud; Meet Miss Fancy by Irene Latham; Mahalia Jackson: Walking with Kings and Queens by Nina Noland; and The Hallelujah Flight by Phil Bildner. John lives in Virginia. Visit him online at HolyfieldStudio.com.