Ada's Violin by Susan Hood

Author: Susan Hood

Illustrator: Sally Wern Comport

Genre: Multicultural, Nonfiction

Awards: Bank Street CBC Best Children's Book of the Year (2017), Bank Street CBC Best Children's Book of the Year, Outstanding Merit (2017), IRA Notable Book for a Global Society (2017), CSMCL Best Multicultural Book (2016), Connecticut Book Award Finalist (2017)

Grade(s): 1st-4th

Summary: This multicultural book shares the true story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay. Ada is a young girl growing up in Cateura, a town made of trash. Although her community was poor, they would make the best of it by looking through the piles of trash dumped there to find things to make a living. Ada, however, became worried about the future of her community as many of the children began to grow up into gangs and getting into fights. Ada's grandmother raised her and her little sister when their parents were away at work and one day, she saw an advertisement for music lessons. Never being able to learn music herself, she wanted her grandchildren, Ada and Noélia, to have this opportunity, so she signed them up. They quickly realized that there were not enough instruments for all of the children who wanted to take lessons. So the instructor, Favio Chávez, gathered several people to help him make instruments for all of the students. They worked together to collect the right trash from the landfill to make all sorts of instruments. Soon, there were plenty of instruments for everyone. They practiced rigorously everyday and soon became well known. Soon, they were asked to fly all over the world to play their instruments. At the end of the book, the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay was asked to open for a famous rock band. Even though they were nervous, they played well and everyone cheered for them more than the rock band!! The last page shows real pictures of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay and of their instruments.

My Thoughts: I thought this book was a wonderful tale of how a community of people made the absolute best out of their living situation. I love how I would be able to use this book to teach my students the value of creativity and innovation. I also love how this book portrays the life of a small community so well through not only its illustrations, but also its story. I will definitely have this book on my bookshelf for years to come!!