Lloyd Moss (–2013)

Did I enjoy Lloyd Moss' love letter to the orchestra? Of course I did! But the real stars of this show, if you'll pardon the pun, are Marjorie Priceman's angular illustrations, which leave no doubt as to why Zin! Zin! Zin! a Violin won a Caldecott Honor. Equal parts Al Hirschfeld and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, I could not get enough of them. Readers can sense the excitement, the sophistication, the beauty of a night at the orchestra. What greater introduction to the orchestra could there be?

This fun book introduces the instruments of an orchestra, one-by-one. The writing is absolutely lovely. The author’s use of rhymes, alliteration, and onomatopoeias make the writing sound like a song. I was very impressed that Lloyd Moss could make such a dry topic so interesting. Children will love to listen to this story and adults will enjoy the way the words fall off the tongue. This book could be enjoyed as early as Kindergarten.

Lloyd Moss, who worked for New York's classical music station, WQXR, for fifty-three years, turned to the world of children's literature in 1995, publishing this debut picture-book about an ever-expanding group of musicians who chime in, one by one, until a full orchestra is in swing! Beginning with a single trombone, Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin builds momentum and excitement, as each new player joins the group. The rhyming text bowls along, communicating the tone and feeling of each of the show more instruments - the "mellow" cello, the "darkly slick" clarinet - while also keeping the rhythm joyfully alive.

A celebration of music that also functions as a counting book (the soloist becomes a duo, the duo a trio, and so on), Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin is an entertaining little tale that would make an ideal read-aloud selection for story-hour. The gouache illustrations by Marjorie Priceman are full of fun, with a sense of movement that perfectly complements the joie de vivre of the text, and are well deserving of the Caldecott Honor that they received. All in all, a book I would recommend to young music lovers, or to anyone looking for good read-aloud titles. show less

This book is an introduction to musical instruments for younger children, and it's well done. The pictures are bright and active, the rhymes flow easily, and the onomatopoeias are fun to read out loud.