Hannah and the Violin

Satoshi Kitamura returns to favourite themes of music, creativity and the imagination in this new book. Hannah is alone in the garden and wishing for someone to play with when she spots a leaf on the ground. She decides it looks like a violin and that she will play it. As she starts to play her leaf-violin, extraordinary things happen: Pied Piper like she calls birds and insects to her – even the flowers seem to be turning their heads and ‘an orchestra of clouds’ arrive. As she plays on, ‘Everything was singing and dancing to the music,’ and Hannah leaves the earth to float in a hallmark-Kitamura cerulean sky surrounded by birds, flowers, musical notes and musical instruments. Only then does her mum, who has heard nothing, call her in for dinner, requesting a repeat performance after they’ve eaten. The story is rich with the elements that make Satoshi Kitamura’s books such a pleasure to read and to share – imagination is given full rein but paired with a sophisticated comic simplicity. An equally simple but expressive range of gesture and expression bring the characters to life, while luscious landscapes and scenes leave readers visually enriched. A book to capture a child’s imagination and encourage it to soar.