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They're all looking at
you and now what? Your voice won't work when all eyes
are pointed your way. You can't sing like that, can't say
your lines, so how can you play your part? You can barely
even move when everybody's watching, so try this:
sleep on it. In the new book Acoustic Rooster's
Barnyard Boogie Starring Indigo Blume by Kwame
Alexander, pictures by Tim Bowers, that might work.
As she helped clean up the
park near her house, Indigo Blume was a happy girl. The
Garden City Community Festival would be held soon and she
was going to sing for the Festival. It was exciting – until
it wasn't.
Her friend, Elijah, said
that the whole school was coming to hear Indigo sing! Mr.
Woody said he saw posters everywhere, and Samantha said that
hundreds of people would probably come. Nooooooooope, that
was too much for Indigo.
Her mom said that Indigo
was "the bravest songbird" she knew.
Indigo's dad said she
should, "Be brave. Be a star. Believe."
As Indigo went to bed that
night, she couldn't believe how scared she was. Still, she
managed to fall asleep and she fell into.... a barn! It was
Acoustic Rooster's barn and his band members were all there.
She loved his book. She loved Acoustic Rooster; his band
could play anything! So there she was, and even
though Chickee Minaj said it was "a closed rehearsal,"
Acoustic Rooster gave Indigo a tambourine.
But then a "hurritrain"
came and blew everything all over. The barn was scrambled,
it was a mess, but Indigo remembered how her neighbors
cleaned up the park, so she suggested that Acoustic
Rooster's band members clean up their area. In fact, maybe
it was a good time to have a "Barnyard Boogie" benefit
concert.
And it might have been, if
Dairy Parton hadn't lost her voice and Duck Ellington hadn't
quacked up. In that case, somebody had to be brave. Someone
needed to be courageous. Someone had to be a star...
Chances are you've seen
videos or TV shows featuring young performers that've blown
your socks off. Believe it or not, at some point in their
lives, chances are they've had stage fright. It happens to
children of all ages, making, Acoustic Rooster's Barnyard
Boogie Starring Indigo Blume a perfect read.
Kids who live to make
music and dance but hate the pressure will love the story
here because there's not a shred of outside push inside this
book. Instead, author Kwame Alexander lets his main
character shine because of a dream-sequence she had, which
leads to a satisfying ending that she already owned. This
makes young readers smile, and parents confident in an
easily-absorbed lesson; add colorful, happy illustrations
from Tom Bowers and you've got a book that'll make kids and
parents both sing.
Based on the Kennedy
Center Musical, this is a great confidence booster for kids
ages five-to-eight, especially the occasionally cold-footed
performer. They'll crow about Acoustic Rooster's Barnyard
Boogie Starring Indigo Blume, just watch.
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