A is for Oboe: The Orchestra’s Alphabet
Auerbach, Lera, and Marilyn Nelson. A is for Oboe: The Orchestra’s Alphabet. Illustrated by Paul Hoppe. New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2022. 40 pp. Grades 2–4.
Delving into the musical world of an orchestra, Auerbach and Nelson use their expertise as musicians and poets to create vivid imagery to expose young readers to the beauty of music. Although not a conventional alphabet book, this book uses the letters of the alphabet to take a deeper look into what contribution each instrument makes in an orchestra. A is for the first note you hear as you take your seat in the concert hall, played by the headstrong oboe. The words read more like lyrics, and you can almost hear the accompaniment as each page is read aloud. The illustrations use color and movement to show the sounds emanating from the musical instruments and portray the different sounds, like drums as a beating heart. You can almost hear the hush across the audience as the last page ends. All races and genders are portrayed, demonstrating that anyone has the potential to be a musician. The book does assume some musical knowledge by the reader, so it would be best as a read-aloud to younger children in a music class or for older children with some knowledge of instruments or music. Reviewed by Jessica Pedersen.
