Pistes d'exploration

Discuss the musical vocabulary as you go through the book—can you think of additional words for each letter?

Choose an aspect of music that interests you and read up on the topic.

Choose a favourite page and write three reasons why you like it.

Make a musical board game similar to Snakes and Ladders. Write musical consequences for certain letters (e.g. sing a song, clap a rhythm, make the sound of a trumpet).

Talk about familiar and less familiar words in the book. Share your knowledge about these words and use reference materials to learn about unknown words. 

Explore additional words that could be added to each page. 

Examine the structure of the book and use it as a model to create an alphabet book on another topic.

Make a musical board game similar to Snakes and Ladders. Write musical consequences for certain letters (e.g. sing a song, clap a rhythm, make the sound of a trumpet).

In teams of four, create a music-themed alphabox with words you already know.

As you read, add new vocabulary to your alphabox.

Select one letter and transform the random words on that page into complete sentences that link the words into a beautiful descriptive paragraph.

In teams, divide the letters among yourselves to create a digital book on popular online musicians. Add a hyperlink to share your favourite audio or video clip. Ask your peers to guess why it might be your favourite before giving your own reason.

M Is for Melody: A Music Alphabet

Mots-clés

Non-fiction , alliteration , alphabet , illustrations (collage) , music , musical instruments , musicians

Commentaire descriptif

Beloved tunes, unusual instruments and famous musicians are the subjects of this funky alphabet book that introduces upper and lower case letters and showcases musical terms from anthems to zydeco. A spare, simple text presents each letter, usually in a single sentence such as “B is for Beatles.” The layout, including rich, muddy paintings (oils and acrylics on gessoed board and tin) is a key component here. Readers will want to linger on each page, which begins with the main entry but veers off into eye-catching illustrations and a list of additional words in different fonts and sizes that begin with the same letter. The “B” page, for example, is chock full of vocabulary—bass, banjo, band, blues, beat, bongo, ballad, bluegrass, bassoon and Broadway—and includes the names Bach, Brahms and Beethoven scribbled over tiny bees, whose heads double as the letter B and the first letter in each composer's name. Suitable for all ages, the book provides quotes from the likes of Frank Zappa and Charlie Parker, and conversational endnotes for curious, older readers interested in a more in-depth exploration of the terms presented.