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Reviewed by: Taylor Coonelly, Elementary School Librarian Title: The Fastest Drummer: Clap Your Hands for Viola Smith
Author: Dean Robbins Illustrator: Susanna Chapman
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: PreK-5 Genre/Type of Book: Biography
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: N/A Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Nominated for the CYBILS award for Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
Clap your hands for this book about the jazz sensation and musical advocate Viola Smith.
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Review:
The Smith Sisters orchestra was a family band, and when young Viola Smith was old enough to join, the only instrument available was the drums. When Viola first touched the drumsticks and made a rat-tat-tat and a bang-bang-bang, she was hooked- though she was out of rhythm with her sisters at that time. Viola dedicated herself to learning the drums on the road, as her and her sisters preformed in Wisconsin and other cities in the Midwest. Viola began to connect with other drummers, asking for advice to grow her talents. While her sisters began to stray away from music, Viola couldn't imagine doing anything but drumming for a living. At the time, however, women musicians were not taken seriously, with people claiming they were less talented than their male counterparts. Viola decided then and there to create a women's band, The Coquettes, which would become a world wide sensation. Viola would go on to play with some of the biggest names in music, graduate from Julliard, and be honored as a musical legend, continuing to play music at the age of 100.
This story is incredibly inspiring, and as a music lover, I loved getting to learn more about Viola Smith's life in this book. The text was light and easily understandable, while painting a picture in combination with the illustrations of Viola's life and passion for the drums. I love how the author highlighted the issue of women musicians, and how an important part of this book was highlighting Viola's work to counteract these stereotypes . The illustrations in this book are wonderful; they are vibrant and imitate paint strokes in a way that seems almost musically inspired. The back authors note includes a list of sources, as well as musical vocabulary to refer to. Overall, a very wonderful elementary biography.
I could see this book being used in and outside of a music curriculum, as a nonfiction source, or as a read aloud focused on music, perseverance, or changemakers.
Number of party hats:
For more about The Fastest Drummer see Teachingbooks.net
For more information about this book, see the publisher's website