What a Song Can Do: 12 Riffs on the Power of Music

By Jennifer Armstrong

Book Overview

A collection of stories that explores the powerful impact music has in our lives, especially in the lives of teens This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440238161
• ISBN13: 9780440238164
• Release Date: January 2006
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf Library
• Length: 200 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 4.0" x 7.1"
• Age Range: 10 to 14 years
• Grade Range: Grades 5 to 9

Customer Reviews

Bazoomba Book!

My Mom bought this book for me, so I'm reviewing on her account. I'm 12 years old. This was a great book -- it shows how important and powerful music is! By far, my favorite chapter was Chapter 3 (Riffs), because it showed how devoted he was to his music. Even though his Mom was in the hospital, he went to band practice anyway! The book had a couple of cuss words, but I didn't mind because it was just the character's expressing their feelings and helped to get the point across. It's only 200 pages, and the letters are big, so it's easy and fun to read. This was a good book!

This Book Can Make Anyone Aware Of The Power Of Music

What I found fascinating about What A Song Can Do was how each one of the 10 young adolescents was able to have an out-of-body experience when they heard one particular song that just spoke to them. Whether it was Nate, who needed to play lead guitar at a concert while his Mom was gravely ill, Rupa, the gypsy girl who was enchanted by the violin that her father carved her, or one of the others, the message was the same: one simple song can make the world freeze. I'm usually not a huge fan of short stories, but this collection is one that is worthy of being read and pondered over. It offers several different stories of how when we are feeling something intensely, whether we are feeling ecstatic, terrified, depressed, or even angry, music can mean everything to us. Some of these protagonists shared some beautiful memories with their loved ones through music, while others saw a side of someone they knew that they had never seen before. Still others met somebody completely new. Music has the power to make us fit in or stand out. It can separate us or bring us together. It is something that we need to shout out and share with the world. A quality that most of us have wanted to possess at one point or another in our lives is to be a skilled musician. Pretty much everyone has dreamed of being able to sing, or being a bassist, or to winning a Grammy. Few people have the desire and dedication to achieve these dreams. Most of the characters in the multiple stories of What A Song Can Do can either sing or play an instrument. But the way they describe their playing makes them seem humble, and hardworking. Some of them are concerned (but not jealous) that their playing is inferior to their sibling's, or their classmate's, or their fellow competitors'. Others could not possibly care less about their talent, and just see it as something that they're good at, but doesn't matter. Those people tend to be naturally good at music and barely have to work to gain mastery. Whether you're talented or not, whether you're on the stage or in the pit, whether you love rock or appreciate opera, this book is for everyone and anyone that loves music and could never live without it. This book can show you how hearing one song can change your world.