Marni Fogelson

The Girl Who Heard the Music is a biography about Mahani Teave. Mahani grew up on the small island of Rapa Nui. She had a strong love for music and loved when visitors came to the island with new instruments. One day, a piano teacher moved to island and brought a piano. Mahani was able to take piano lessons and quickly became a very talented pianist. Unfortunately, the piano teacher and her piano left the island. Mahani decided to leave the island and pursue her love of music. She played all over the world and became a famous pianist. She returned to her home and noticed the devastating impact of pollution and plastic waste. Mahani along with other members of her community decide to use the plastic to build a sustainable school of music. This story has many layers and I love each one of them. Mahani is a dreamer and just like her ancestors who were explorers, she pursued her dream by exploring the world. This book also discusses the negative impact tourism can have on small communities. It is inspiring that the citizens of Rapa Nui came together and used the garbage to create a school of music! They took something bad and turned it into a beautiful opportunity for children on the island. The illustration in this book is full of vibrant colors and captivates the audience. The back of the book provides the reader with information about Rapa Nui, the Rapanui language, the School of Music, and the future of the island. This book is inspires the reader to follow their dreams. This book is also a great book to discuss ways to go green!… (more)

This book’s subtitle is: How One Pianist and 85,000 Bottles and Cans Brought New Hope to an Island.

This is a fabulous book! It’s so touching that I found myself tearing up at times.

This is a perfect book for environmental activists and others who care about our natural world and who care about climate change. It’s a perfect book for budding musicians and those who appreciate music. It’s also a fine book for anyone interested in creative problem solving, in Indigenous culture, in Rapa Nui specifically, in gardening and eco-friendly construction and zero waste living, in Earthships (a term new to me and now I love it/them and will look for them!) and fans of coming of age stories. It’s a wonderful story about how one person and how a relatively few people can make the world a better place.

As is typical with children’s picture book biographies, the back of the book has more detailed facts than the storybook proper, though the illustrated story has plenty of information too, enough so that it feels like a complete story even without the superb back material. Officially it’s a part of Chile but it’s 2,200 miles away from it, and father away from everywhere else with regular human habitation.

The illustrations are glorious and I love them. They’re beautiful, colorful, expressive, with lovely details, and they couldn’t be more perfect as an accompaniment to this true story. I am grateful for the pictorial map of the island that includes its distance from its closest inhabited places, which are very, very far away.

This book makes me want to learn more about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and about Mahani Teave, the main character and a contributor to this book, and about Earthships too.

Please see Kathryn’s excellent review, especially because she lists some additional resources. I plan to check out some of them:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6305441924

I see I put a note for this book: “Note: Watch a video and listen to the music in addition to reading the book.” I haven’t done this yet but am eager to do it.

This book is a winner! I want to see it in every library, school library and children’s center.… (more)