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Symphony for a Broken Orchestra: How Philadelphia Collected Sounds to Save Music
What happens when musical instruments can’t make the sounds we expect them to make? Is music still possible? An uplifting picture book based on a true story.
The schools of Philadelphia were filling up with broken violins, drums, pianos, and more, making it difficult for students to learn to play. This sparked an idea for a symphony, played entirely with the broken instruments, that would raise funds to repair the instruments themselves. Musicians young and old volunteered, and their captivating performance showed that even something broken can sing—and that great music is always possible with a bit of inventiveness and improvisation. Based on real events, this inspiring story introduces young readers to a range of instruments as it celebrates a community coming together to make a joyful, meaningful noise. More information about the nonprofit organization Broken Orchestra can be found in the back matter, including a link to an audio recording of the symphony performance.
The schools of Philadelphia were filling up with broken violins, drums, pianos, and more, making it difficult for students to learn to play. This sparked an idea for a symphony, played entirely with the broken instruments, that would raise funds to repair the instruments themselves. Musicians young and old volunteered, and their captivating performance showed that even something broken can sing—and that great music is always possible with a bit of inventiveness and improvisation. Based on real events, this inspiring story introduces young readers to a range of instruments as it celebrates a community coming together to make a joyful, meaningful noise. More information about the nonprofit organization Broken Orchestra can be found in the back matter, including a link to an audio recording of the symphony performance.
40 pages, Hardcover
Published October 11, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 4, 2022
The audio book was delightful.
January 12, 2023
Very cool. I had no idea the Broken Orchestra was a thing.
October 30, 2022
Colorful, sound-filled, almost musical digital illustrations support a true story about how a community rallied to repair the damaged musical instruments used by budding student musicians. The text is just as lively as the artwork, describing how the city of Philadelphia is filled with all sorts of music. But the sounds being emitted by broken instruments strike a discordant chord throughout the city as saxophones, drums, and violins that have seen better days hurt the ears of listeners. The text and illustrations showcase the stark differences between the playing of new instruments and the broken ones. But the music only stops temporarily as music teachers, the artistic director of Temple Contemporary, and a composer band together to stage a fundraising symphony with music played with broken instruments, all emitting their own unique sound and somehow strangely beautiful and inspiring. The musicians were veterans as well as novice players. But what's even more inspiring is how a nonprofit organization to support music education for youngsters came about as the result of all this effort and attention. Interested readers will want to check out the link to the symphony and hear the music for themselves. Add this picture book to a collection about individuals beating the odds or one about the Landfill Harmonic Orchestra in Ada's Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay (2016). This one doesn't have the emotional impact of Ada's Violin, but it's still worth reading and considering how it's possible to rethink life's possibilities and refurbish what others might consider to be junk.
February 4, 2023
Inspired by true events, the message of how music won’t be stopped whether an instrument is broken or not and then how one clever idea resulted in being able to repair those same instruments, is heartwarming. The story is told in a clear, precise way that allows even the youngest readers to understand what takes place. Temple Contemporary Artistic Director Robert Blackson and Composer David Lang, along with all those who volunteered to participate in the symphony, are true heroes for how they brought music back full force to Philadelphia schools. The rhythmic text and onomatopoeia in this picture book bring the sounds of the instruments alive and the gorgeous illustrations add vivid excitement to the story. I was able to watch some of the real symphony via the link shared in the back matter and found it breathtaking, almost as though the broken instruments were crying out to be heard. What’s even more exciting about this story is that Symphony for a Broken Orchestra is now a nonprofit organization that continues to help provide music education for all children. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am gifting it to my favorite young musician. I’d recommend it for ages 4 and up.
February 26, 2023
No matter how carefully cared for, musical instruments do break for a variety of reasons. Amy Ignatow tells the story of the instruments in the Philadelphia School System in a page-by-page, full-of-sounds way, from saxophones to violins. The back matter tells about Robert Blackson, the artistic director of Temple Academy, who visited a shutdown school and found dozens of abandoned, broken pianos. He vowed to put on a concert with only broken school instruments in order to raise the money to fix them. Music teachers collected the instruments, David Lang, composer, wrote the symphony, and over four hundred musicians, from big orchestras to small bands volunteered to play in it. The success saved the music program and the organization (the book title) has continued. There is more told at the back plus the illustrations by Gwen Millward take the music to the pages in color and sound! Can you guess which instrument sounds like "tika tika tika tik tik tik" or "Waaaaaahhh waaaaah"? It's an inspiring story!
March 24, 2023
Philadelphia is a noisy place, but some of that is the joyful sounds of kids playing instruments they learn in school. Until something happens and their instrument breaks. Then it doesn't sound joyful at all, it's pretty dull and can be annoying. No one wants to play a broken instrument. So, a group of musicians got together to play a benefit concert with a special symphony inspired and played by the broken instruments.
What? This happened? Oh, I loved this story - the written sounds of the instruments playing (and how that sound changed once it was broken) and the inspiring ending were all perfect! Gosh, can't wait to show my favorite music teacher. Includes an author's note about the organization with a link to hear the symphony. Definitely buying.
Crossposted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
What? This happened? Oh, I loved this story - the written sounds of the instruments playing (and how that sound changed once it was broken) and the inspiring ending were all perfect! Gosh, can't wait to show my favorite music teacher. Includes an author's note about the organization with a link to hear the symphony. Definitely buying.
Crossposted to http://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com
January 17, 2023
Reviewing for the Mock Caldecott Awards later this month. I liked the idea behind this book much more than the actual book. An artistic director was touring a public school in Philadelphia which had been shut down and found a store room full of broken instruments. His idea was to sponsor a symphony which used only all of the broken instruments in order to raise money to fix the broken ones. What a wonderful idea. There's even a link at the end of the book that you can use to hear the actual performance.
February 7, 2024
Interesting background story but unfortunately, this book didn't do an excellent job of telling it. The illustrations are bright and cheerful, and the instrument noises are a fun inclusion, but overall, there could have been a better way to show the rest of the story after the instruments broke. I do like that there is an actual charity connected to this story called Broken Orchestra that gives back to public school music programs.
**Thank you to Walker Books (Candlewick Press) for providing this book to SWON Libraries Consortium for professional review.**
**Thank you to Walker Books (Candlewick Press) for providing this book to SWON Libraries Consortium for professional review.**
July 11, 2023
Love the story behind this and the title, but I'm not sure the book does it justice. The solution seemed sudden, with little info on how they got broken instruments to work together, how the musicians head about the fundraiser, whether it worked, and so on.
May 3, 2022
I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
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November 26, 2022a very creative and inventive exploration of musical instruments
November 27, 2022
The audiobook narration was great!
November 27, 2022
The cool story of how the city of Philadelphia came together to raise money for new instruments in its schools. Be sure to watch the video of the concert!
January 2, 2023
A short children’s book about an orchestra fundraiser in Philly. Inspiring and cute! But I wish we could hear more about what happened after.
January 7, 2023
Listened to this as an audiobook - very delightful
May 25, 2023
cute real-life inspired story!
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August 3, 2023The link to the YouTube video is an amazing companion for this story.
December 30, 2023
Loved sharing this story with my child. Be prepared to make lots of broken instrument sounds when reading this aloud!
January 1, 2024
1/1/2024 - Fabulous illustrations with characters with a range of skin tones. The story could, perhaps, have spent a bit more time at the end showing the positive impact of the symphony.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews