Product Description

One day when Max doesn't feel too much like talking to anybody, he finds two sticks that make a perfect pair of drumsticks. Soon he is beating out a rhythm on anything he can find, from his thigh to a bucket to a large garbage can. Suddenly a marching band comes around Max's corner and the most wonderful thing happens! Full color.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #200094 in Books
• Published on: 1997-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780689815935
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Max doesn't much feel like talking, so he lets his drumsticks (two twigs, actually) respond to questions and imitate the sounds of his city neighborhood--pigeons startled into flight, rain tapping against a window, a train thundering down the elevated track. By linking Max's "drums" to activities from each previous page (for example, his grandfather is seen washing windows on one page, and in the next, Max is drumming on the cleaning bucket), Pinkney unobtrusively tugs the story forward. The fluid lines of his distinctive scratchboard illustrations fairly swirl with energy, visually translating Max's joy in creating rhythm and sound (Pinkney is well suited to the task, having been a drummer since the age of eight). A serendipitous ending finds the drummer from a passing marching band tossing a spare set of real drumsticks to the delighted Max. Ages 4-8. Children's BOMC alternate.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-3-On a day when Max doesn't feel like talking to anyone, a strong breeze shakes two heavy twigs to the ground in front of his brownstone home. Picking them up, the young African-American boy begins to beat out a rhythm that imitates the sound of pigeons startled into flight. Soon he is tapping out the beat of everything around him-rain against the windows, the chiming of church bells, and the thundering sound of a train on its tracks. The snappy text reverberates with the rhythmic song of the city, and Pinkney's swirling, scratchboard-oil paintings have a music of their own. This is an effective depiction of the way in which self-expression takes on momentum, as Max's quiet introspection turns into an exuberant celebration of the world around him.
Anna DeWind, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 4-8. Max makes music that imitates the sounds of the city around him and the rhythms within himself. Sitting on the steps of his house, the small boy finds two sticks and taps on his thighs; then he pats on Grandfather's window-washing bucket, and it's like light rain falling on the windows. When Mother comes home from shopping, he taps on her hatboxes and on his friends' soda bottles. He imagines the sound of a marching band in the clouds. On the neighborhood garbage cans he pounds out the sound of the subway thundering down the tracks. The text is a spare, rhythmic accompaniment to Pinkney's scratchboard illustrations of oil paint and gouache, which swirl and circle through the double-page spreads, filling them with energy and movement. The small solitary boy doesn't feel like talking, but his music communicates with the world. In a great climax, a marching band--just like the one he imagined--comes sweeping around the corner and the last drummer tosses Max his spare set of sticks. "Thanks," Max calls, and he doesn't miss a beat. Hazel Rochman

Customer Reviews

Wonderfully Rhythmic!
I have used this book for several years in my music classroom. I've used it to introduce percussion family, marching band,self-expression and creative compositions. The story itself is wonderfully done, but the illustrations make the book a treasure. My students ask to read this one during Read Aloud Week.

Kid in the City
I'm biased because of emotional ties to Brooklyn, but since we moved after my son was born, I was very happy to find and read him this book. It reminds me of the kids on our street there, playing games with what they find - and sticks are pretty harmless as far as city finds go. The illustrations are BEAUTIFUL.

Max consistently answers "what are you doing with those sticks?" musically, not verbally - which isn't necessarily how I want my son to communicate with me, but since we listen to and play a lot of music here, I think it's a good book to show the range of communication, and to show that it's ok to do your own thing without constantly explaining yourself.

While it might be strange to some that Max answers their questions with music, it's actually stranger that people ask absent-mindedly what he's doing when they can see and hear what he's doing - playing music!!
Max has his head on straight, and in the end is rewarded by a parade of musicians passing by, with one passing a pair of "real" drumsticks to him. It's a nice touch, that while his family doesn't get him, other musicians do. Again, I think this encourages kids to have confidence in doing their own thing. (Can you tell this is a resounding value with me?!)

While I'm writing about the plot, I think a serious asset to this book is with the illustrations. My 3 year old doesn't rush to turn pages, he really takes in the drawings. He is very verbal and communicative, but I think this book adds another dimension to his book collection.

This book is incredible!
This story is about a boy who loves music and rhythms. He has some drumsticks so he plays music. We loved his music the best! I think people should read this book because people get an idea to be in a band. We would too.