I was unfamiliar with Antonia Brico before reading this book, and I'm glad for the opportunity to learn about her life. While she never realized her dream of being the conductor of an established orchestra, she nevertheless was able to become a conductor, something unheard of when she first dreamed of doing so. Her story is an inspirational one for children, and it's a profession you don't see covered much in kids' books. At the end of the book, there are capsule biographies of three current female conductors and three trailblazers who helped lead the way for Antonia The mixed-media artwork is lovely, and blends well with the story.

#InOneEarandOuttheOther #NetGalley

I received an advance reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a beautiful book about Antonia Brico whom I had never heard of until today. She was and still is by all accounts a huge inspiration especially to girls and women with a passion for music and she helped pave the way to women being able to play music within orchestras by being determined, following her dream and pursuing what she loved most - music.
This is a fantastic short biography book for children to encourage them to go after their dreams and what they believe in even if others are against it.

This picture book biography shares the inspiring story of Antonia Brico, a female musician who faced sexist obstacles to her dream of becoming a conductor. I enjoyed the vivid illustrations and interesting details about her career, and the book does a great job of showing her accomplishments while also acknowledging the setbacks and injustices that she faced. At the end, there is a timeline that provides even more detail about her background and career than the brief text could include, and there are also short bios about female conductors who benefited from her pioneering work, and about other female musical pioneers.

There is one thing about this book that adoptive parents should be aware of. When Antonia was a young adult, she learned that her mother and father were not her biological parents, and they sent her away and refused to provide for her any further. The timeline at the end shares further details about the unethical details surrounding her foster parents' original claim on her, and even though this is part of the story, and part of history, families who are already experiencing trauma related to foster care or abandonment need to be aware of this element before reading this book.

This is a wonderful story about Antonia Brico, who was an incredible musician you've probably never heard of. She worked hard to become a conductor in a man's world. This incredible woman worked very hard to move her way up in the music world.

The illustrations are gorgeous, colourful and inviting. I really liked the style and vibed well with it.

This story would work best for kids aged 6 to 12. Older crowds might enjoy seeing this wonderful non-fiction story painted in images. The story is short but presented like a short chapter book with beautiful pictures.

Overall, this book is a great story to introduce readers to a true story! I'd highly recommend it, especially as someone who has always loved music.

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penny Candy Books for sending me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Don't kick yourself that you have never heard of Antonia Brico. Sometimes women pioneers are shuffled off to the side, because people don't know what to make of them.

Antonio, born at the beginning of the 20th century wanted to be a conductor. And the only thing that was stopping her was not talent, as she was very talented, nor was it lack of orchestras. No, the basic reason was that was she was a woman. She had to fight every step of the way to get where she did finally end up. She had to fight to learn how to conduct. She had to fight to do guest conducting, and she had to fight to get an orchestra to let her conduct.

And although she finally did get her own orchestra to conduct, it was only for five performances a year, hardly enough to live on.

But, that is the way it is with pioneers, as the author points out. That those who blaze the way make it easier for those who come later to get to the top of the mountain.

Wonderful book to add to any library. Early chapter book, easy to read, and with excellent bibliography as well as time line in the back for readers who might want to know more.

The illustration style hooked me in entirely and if this illustrator could illustrate more children's books, I would gladly purchase them all for my son. The writing is quite simple but the messages portrayed were strong and the story itself was about a historical figure I'd never heard of before. I would highly recommend this book and will be looking into the other books in this series.

What a beautiful portrayal of a little-known historical figure. She fought for the rights of women in music! I especially loved the ending and the addition of information about other female conductors.