2022 / 2021 |
32 | TOM ORROW & TO DAY KU
Music Is … a Gift I
n the case of Stephen T. Johnson’s new children’s book, “Music Is ...” (Simon & Schuster, 2020; www.Amazon. com/Dance/dp/1416999507), form preceded function. The idea for accordion-style pages was the crucial catalyst for Johnson’s thinking, according to the Caldecott Medal-winning lecturer in the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. “There was another book idea that I worked on for years, and it was always in an accordion format,” Johnson says. “And through numerous permutations, my editor eventually said, ‘Your text and ideas sound more like a music book.’ What should a music book look like for young readers? And what does it need to say? “Music transcends borders, cultures, politics, divisiveness, and age. Music is a bridge to joy and reflects our humanness and nourishes our souls, for we are
ARTICLE BY Rick Hellman, KU News Service
all connected through sounds, rhythm, and heart,“ he says. “I wanted to convey this idea, and the accordion format allowed for the book to exist in two parts. On the front side — illustrations accompanied by simple, onomatopoetic sound phrasing and narrative pastiches. On the back side — condensed summations of each genre with related instruments and songs, musicians, and composers.” Unfolded, the book stretches to over 23 feet. Johnson is a musician as well as a highly accomplished visual artist. He played lead guitar in high school and college-age rock bands, including, he notes, KU’s 1982 Hashinger Hall Battle of the Bands. And yet he says the highly personal and expansive subject of music was a challenging task to put into words and art. That was so, even though he has written and illustrated several
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY Stephen T. Johnson
Author designs both text and art for a book exhorting children to play music.
