Becoming Bach

Leonard, T. (2017). Becoming Bach. Roaring Brook Press.

40 Pages, Grades Preschool-3, Biography/Picture Book, ISBN 9781626722866

Becoming Bach talks about how music had influenced the famous German musician Johann Sebastian Bach throughout his life. When Bach was young, there was always music around him, and his family members were all musicians. Bach learned how to play several instruments during his early life. After his parents passed away, his eldest brother taught him about the patterns of music. Later on, he became a church organist and produced lots of melodies.

It is a wonderful book to introduce the German musician Johann Sebastian Bach to young kids. First, the author uses the first-person perspective with simple and short texts in writing Bach's story. The content is more understandable for kids, and they can be more engaged in it. Also, the illustrations that the author uses are matched to the period of time Bach had lived at, which is the 17th-century classical style. The illustrations are very authentic which can help visualize the scenes for kids to look at. The portrayal of Bach in this book is well developed and accurate, which the author describes major events and achievements of Johann Sebastian Bach in it. I like how the author mentions specific names of Bach's family and specific dates in his illustrations. It helps kids know better about the facts of Bach. I also like the last page of this book because it gives more detailed information about Bach with a timeline of his life. It will be a useful book for kids to read when learning music and when learning social studies about influential people in European history.

Reviewed by Liu, Yulin.