My Friend the Piano

This book is highly recommended to anyone who values creativity above proper form. I really enjoyed this book. The little girl is such a free spirit, completely unyielding in her belief that she is a composer though her mother insists that all she makes is noise. In truth, were this not told in the right way, it would have been a depressing book. The girl gets no encouragement from her parents and the piano that she so loves hurtles off a cliff into the ocean to escape being dismantled by an eccentric gardener, but in giving life to the piano and building a friendship between the piano and the little girl the author created a heartwarming (if a bit strange) story. ( )

A little girl discovers a friend in a grand piano when she starts composing (e.g., symphonies of traffic jams) and the piano responds -- laughing and crying. But her mother claims it's just noise, not proper playing and tries to insist on piano lessons. But the piano sulks and goes flat and out of tune whenever the girl merely "practices". Finally when the parents insist on giving it away -- as they feel it's useless -- and the three of them are wheeling it down the driveway, the girl jumps on its back and she and the piano take off. (Like Thelma and Louise) they have a rip-roaring escape and dramatic ride to the edge of a cliff overlooking the sea. The girl jumps off and the piano plunges into the depths. So now the girl can go to Symphony Rock and sit and listen. "It's the susurrous sound of my symphonies sailng far distant seas, safe in my friend the piano." The final page shows a leaping grand piano swimming alongside dolphins in the sea.