Song of the Court by Katy Farina is a children's graphic novel. Arietta sells flowers at her local castle market. She doesn't have enough money for seeds, so she decides she has no choice but to sell her grandfather's violin. But, then she runs into the princess outside the music shop. Princess Cassia is looking for musicians for her upcoming birthday party and assumes Arietta can play the violin in her hands.
Arietta doesn't know how to play the violin but she agrees to play because she really doesn't want to part with the violin, which brings back fond memories of her grandfather, or disappoint the princess. So, with the help of a friend she takes a crash course in violin playing. She progresses quickly but at the party she's horrified to find out someone else has chosen to play the same song, the only song she knows.
I won't give away the ending but it's sweet and I have a feeling I would have absolutely loved this book as a small child, both for the main character's determination to learn an instrument and the friendship with a princess.
Recommended - A cute graphic novel with a great theme about putting your mind to something and accomplishing it. The age range for this book is listed as 4-8 years so it can first be read to a little one and then part of their intro to reading. I did occasionally find some of the characters' expressions confusing (I'd misread them and then figure out my mistake through the text) but that didn't cause much trouble as it always quickly became clear. Especially recommended for little girls who are interested in music, royalty, or that "You can do it if you put your mind to it" theme with some nice friendship on the side.
I received my copy of Song of the Court from Sterling Children's Books in exchange for an unbiased review. Many thanks!
Just for fun, here's how I posed the book for Instagram, followed by a "behind the scenes" image. I had to keep telling Fiona to stop chewing on the flowers.
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That does sound really cute. I might see if my nine-year-old would like it. I always admire how you pose your books with relatable items. So much more artistic than just a plain book cover!
ReplyDeleteIt's a really cute story. I had a princess obsession, as a child, so I know I would have loved it when I was young. Thanks! I have so much fun posing books. Well, sometimes (sometimes I just don't feel like it). It's funny that I resisted Instagram for so long. I just didn't think I could handle yet another site with blog, FB, and Twitter, but I really enjoy it.
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