Books with Classical Music Themes, Music Bookends, and More!

I love this picture book biography about famed cellist Yo-Yo Ma. After studying his whole life and playing at famous venues all around the world, Yo-Yo Ma performed at the U.S.-Mexico border at the Rio Grande on April 13, 2019 as part of his multi-continent “Bach Project” tour.

This is one of my absolute favorite picture books of all time. The illustrations are so funny and charming! It’s a Friday night, and the 105 members of the New York Philharmonic are getting dressed in black and white so they can head to the concert hall and play music together.

Florence Price was a brilliant pianist who played her first piano concert when she was four. She was an avid composer, and she wrote music hoping that it would one day be performed by an orchestra. In 1933, her dreams came true when she prevailed against race and gender prejudices to become the first Black woman to be recognized as a symphonic composer and be performed by a major American orchestra.

Twelve-year-old twins Rose and Thomas are growing further apart. While Rose is focused on preparing for the Bach Cello Suites Competition, Thomas is consumed by growing the biggest pumpkin in their neighbor’s yard. But when a serious accident changes their summer entirely, the two twins learn more about what it means to be family, and how to help each other achieve their dreams.