Absolutely love this book about violinist Joshua Bell as a young boy learning to play and then participating in his first violin competition! Lovely lighthearted illustrations and wonderful --and necessary-- message about the power of music to tell stories and the power of starting over after making a mistake. Highly recommended!

This was interesting! I think maybe the book would appeal to very young children studying a musical instrument. I liked the illustrations- very dynamic! Joshua Bell's story is entertaining and encouraging to any up and coming musicians.

An inspiring, illustrated retelling of an event from the childhood of American violinist and conductor, Joshua Bell. As a teacher, I love picture book biographies, and this one does not disappoint! Joshua commits to performing an exceptionally tricky piece of music for his very first competition, despite being warned of its difficulty. A great life lesson about making mistakes and persevering with wonderful musical vocabulary that is mirrored by colorful illustration throughout! A great gift for any age, musically inclined or not!

First of all, I'm super glad I finished this book, including the part that doesn't look like it was part of the story, because that's where I learned that our main character, Joshua Bell, is a REAL person. The info was provided on the very last Q&A-ish page: http://joshuabell.com

This book is one of the first picture books I didn't particularly like the art style, but however am super fond of the composition of the artwork. I grew to eventually enjoy the illustrations.

The story wasn't exactly remarkable at the beginning, we got to know a boy who was passionate about playing the violin; but the turning point was the fail, which apparently did happen to Bell in real life. The fact that he had the courage to ask for a second chance moved me. I think even if he didn't play well the second time round, by not giving up, he already won.

**This book was reviewed via Netgalley**

Dance of the Violin tells the story of young Joshua Bell, how he began learning the violin, and his first competition performance. This is a little tale of persistence, patience, and above all, a joyful love of playing the violin. Young Joshua is excited at the prospect of participating in an upcoming competition. He chooses an ambitious piece to learn, for a violinist so young. This piece is Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole, a piece difficult to master at any age. But Joshua was determined. There was a story to this music and he wanted to release it! Will all of his work pay off when the big day comes? Will he be able to share the story he sees in the music with others?

This is a book for younger readers, though quite enjoyable for adults too. The artwork is amazing. I love how we get to see the story in the music that Joshua sees. At the end is a small Q & A section about Bell, and that first competition so many years ago. That section got me interested in the violinist, and now we are going to see him in June, in San Francisco!

Dance of the Violin is a testament to doing what brings you joy, and to the value of dedication to your craft, be it music, dance, performance, storyweaving, or anything in between.

🎻🎻🎻🎻🎻 Highly recommended

The Dance of the Violin
By Kathy Stinson
Illustrations by Dusan Petricic
Rating 5
This is a wonderful story based upon the life of Joshua Bell, a world renown violinist and conductor. It portrays a young boy who so loves music that he has pictures in his head when he plays. It is about practicing diligently and commitment. I think I liked the story because it was an biography, of sorts, of someone famous, in this case a violinist; but it was more than that. It portrayed a very important life lesson: You aren’t alway going to win nor are you always going to succeed in all that you do the first time around but never give up on your yourself or your dreams. For me, it was the illustrations that made this book a 5. I could visualize the pictures going through Joshua’s head...

Parental Note: This story opens a door for discussion. Kids aren’t always going to win or be the best in all that they do all of the time. This is a story about not giving up.

Overall: 4/5
Illustrations: 5/5
Content: 4/5
Cover; 5/5

It is beautifully drawn, and the story itself is inspiring for kids, but I didn't like the ending editing. Why reveal the ending on a fact page? (I was expecting a cross-page illustration, to be honest :P)
Still, it is a book recommending.

Joshua Bell, a true to life classical violinist, once was a little boy who had an innate passion for playing the violin. When he was twelve years old he entered the Stulbert International String Competition for the very first time. He convinces his mom and dad to drive him to Kalamazoo, Michigan for the competition. He has loads of practising to do before his performance date. He chooses a piece of music that his teacher suggests is too difficult for even some adults to play. Joshua is adamant that that is the one he wants so his teacher agrees to let him go forward with the piece.

Joshua is knowingly nervous the day of his performance and he makes a mistake early on in his delivery and almost crumbles. Oh my! But wait should he be bold and ask for a reprise? That's just what this brave little guy did. He steps forward and asks the judges for a reprieve. Luckily for Joshua the judges graciously agree and his second attempt is pure heaven. He gets carried away in his imagination and with his music creating magic to the ears of everyone in that room.

What does Joshua learn that day? What valuable life lesson can he pass on to his readers? He understands that everyone makes mistakes sometimes and what he encourages you to remember is to be focused in the moment, give it your very best effort and be happy with the final outcome. Wise words of wisdom indeed!!

The whimsical illustrations are full of imagination and wonder. They swirl and move and draw you into Joshua's music. Joshua is such an adorable little character you just want to hug him... hug him when he is brave enough to step out of his comfort zone and raise the bar high on his selection of music, hug him when he is so scared and intimidated at his competition, hug him when he valiantly asks for a re-do and HUG, HUG, HUG him when he plays so brilliantly. I highly recommend this book.

Beautiful illustrations! This is an encouraging story of a young violinist who learns a lesson in perseverance and ambition. This book was enjoyable and sweet., and it would be great in a music classroom to introduce some musical lingo as well as in a reading classroom to look at the great metaphors and similes the author uses.

This story is based on a real incident taken from the life Joshua Bell, renowned American violinist and conductor. Readers see his passion for music from the time he was very small, but this book focuses on a time when young Joshua decided he wanted to enter a competition. The piece he wanted to play was very difficult, even for adults, and it was his first competition.

Joshua was not to be deterred. He practiced diligently. On the day before the competition, he was very nervous. "By the time they arrived at their hotel, Joshua's insides felt the way his violin sounded if the strings were tuned too tight."

His nervousness continued as he waited for his turn to play. When he finally began, he made a small mistake that then became a series of mistakes. He stopped and asked the judges if he could start over. They acquiesced and Joshua played brilliantly.

This book is beautifully written. The descriptions of other students' performances at the competition are a perfect example.
"The music one student played tickled every hair on Joshua's head and vibrated right down to his toes. Another student hit all the right notes, but they hung limp in the air like wet laundry on the clothesline."

Dušan Petricic's illustrations have a Quenten Blake quality to them. They put me in mind of chromesthesia, a kind of musical synesthesia. Petricic portrays music as patterns of exploding colour; zigzagging, spinning or bursting in straight short lines.

Manifestations of music are the primary use of colour in the first few pages. The rest are line drawings with splotches of pink for cheeks and yellow for hair. Later on he captures Joshua's joy in music eloquently.

As the story progresses Joshua is filled with more colour, but the rest of the his world is portrayed in shades of brown and grey.

There are moments when the text and images unite brilliantly. Stinson's use of the vocabulary of music and Petricic's images combine to help readers understand this terminology.

But other times, Petricic's depiction of music as movements of colour didn't mesh with Stinson's narrative of Joshua hearing stories of dancers in the music. I would love to read the text only to a group of students and have them come up with their own illustrations and then compare them with the originals.

It's a minor quibble compared to the positive messages of not being afraid to tackle hard challenges and not giving up despite setbacks.

I appreciated the endnotes that provide additional information about Joshua Bell. If you want to find out how he did in the competition, you will have to find the book and read them.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review. You won't be able to get your own copy until March 14. Mark your calendar, it's worth the wait.

This is a sweet little book that will inspire readers to reach for their dreams, no matter how lofty they seem. With love of music and determination, you can achieve anything.
The beautiful illustrations bring this story and music to life. I would highly recommend this book , especially to children looking for a creative outlet.

Music inspires; it transports you to a different world. This book portrays that with playful illustrations that seem to dance across the pages with grace and energy. The words dance right along with them all the while telling a wonderful, inspiring story. A piece of music speaks to Joshua, with visions of dancers when he sees the notes, and though he is told that this is hard, he works hard at it and learns the piece to play in a competition. His perseverance and his passion shine through, even in the face of failure. Knowing it is based on a true incident makes it all the more inspiring. The book ends abruptly and I wish the end notes which explain what happened were actually written in as part of the story itself with more illustrations! That would have made this perfect.
This is definitely a book to read to or with children, to teach that you can get up, and succeed even after a failure; and to instill a love of the arts; and to inspire.
Reading Level: 5-8 years suggested (Read to younger kids; read with everyone else :) - my teenage son enjoyed reading this with me as well!)
Disclaimer: Thank you to NetGalley/Annick Press for the digital ARC of the book

I am clapping although you may not hear me. Kudos to the author/s! This is extremely well done. Many authors writing for children, particularly when it is a biographical or story designed to portray a moral, pen a story that is better appreciated the an adult. This is so well done that children will enjoy, appreciate and understand the child and his behavior. The cover perfectly illustrates the story and the illustrations are such that I can hear and feel the movement. Bravo!
I will add review links when the release date approaches, 3/14?

What do you feel when you hear music? What to you feel when you play music? Do you see colors? Do you see shapes? Does the music pick you up and send you away?

In this picture book about the first competition that Joshua Bell performed at, when he was 12, we see how he feels and sees dancers when he plays the music. It swirls around him, and makes him happy.

But, what happens when you fail? He is told the music is too hard for him, that he should try something different. He does not, and fails, the first time. But like a gymnist getting back up on the balance beam, he comes back and plays the whole piece through and, though he does not win the competition, he does come in third.

This is a wonderful book to explain the love of music, but also to explain that you can fail and yet come back from that failure.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Who doesn't make mistakes? But for young Joshua Bell, making a mistake during a music competition was hard to handle. So, he asked to begin again. Good advice. So too is the added information that sometimes as adult, Josua Bell makes mistakes, but tries to just enjoy the music. A good introduction to a young person's dedication to music and the joy it brings ...even if he sometimes makes a mistake.

A fun book about a boy's love of music. According to the final pages this was based on a real boy too.

This was a beautiful story about a boy and his violin. How he would see stories when he played. He wanted to go to a music competition so others could see his stories as well. Turns out this is a true story. You get this information at the end of the book. While I enjoyed the book, it feels unfinished. It wraps up with his dancers lifting him to the sky, and then nothing. No come down, no did he win? It leaves more questions than it answers, which I think is bad for a picture book.

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