Musical Mac

by Brendan Kearney

Overview

When a millipede can’t find a band to join, he finds a way to make his own special kind of music!

“ . . . richly detailed artwork, colorful characters, and strong narrative will make for an enjoyable, musically oriented storytime.” —Booklist Online

Mac the millipede has lots and lots of arms and legs—which are useful for many things, but especially for making music. He dreams of playing in the Soggy Bog Talent Show with a band, but wherever he auditions, everyone says NO. No one wants him . . . until Mac comes up with an ingenious, satisfying one-millipede solution to his problem! Brendan Kearney’s funny, charming picture book will inspire all kids who like to march to the beat of their own drum.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781454933700
Publisher:	Union Square Kids
Publication date:	09/10/2019
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	412,253
Product dimensions:	10.00(w) x 10.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Brendan Kearney is also the illustrator of Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast and its sequels The Case of the Stinky Stench and Mission Defrostable, as well as Bertie Wings It. He lives in St. Albans, UK.

Editorial Reviews

Mac is a musically gifted millipede, and as the Soggy Bog Talent Show approaches, being too shy for a solo performance, he packs his instruments and goes out in search of a band. After attempting to join an insect orchestra, an alley cat jazz group, and a barbershop quartet of birds, he ends up running for his life from the avian predators, finally escaping through a crowd—and onto the talent show stage. There, with the use of his many appendages and the support of new friends in the audience, Mac finds the courage to perform alone. Kearney tells a classic tale of the outsider trying to find his place in the world, and . . . Mac is an endearingly rendered character . . .  the richly detailed artwork, colorful characters, and strong narrative will make for an enjoyable, musically oriented storytime.” —Booklist Online

From the Publisher

2019-05-26
A talented bug wants to play music but is nervous about taking the stage solo.

To compete in the Soggy Bog Talent Show, Mac the millipede decides to join a band. He grabs his many instruments in his many, many hands and heads out. Mac joins in with each rehearsing group he finds, playing violin with a tiny, antennaed orchestra, blowing his trumpet with some alley cats, and crooning with a bird a cappella group, among others. Each group's spokesanimal compliments his talents but dismisses the prospective musician. The birds even try to eat him! They scare Mac so much that he runs all the way onto the talent show stage—alone. Then all "his new friends" in the audience—the bands he's recently met—call out for him to play a different instrument (and "Sorry for trying to eat you!" yells one bird). Mac breathes deeply, then starts playing every instrument at once, embracing his (reader-anticipated) calling to be "his very own ONE MAN BAND!" The text incorporates some playful elements, including some internal rhyme and sequential panels, although its simple story with predictable plot turns provides little beyond the first read-through. All the animal characters, even mammals, are bug-eyed, rendered in saturated colors and placed against detailed backgrounds that provide some visual fodder.

A cohesive chord that nevertheless rings hollow. (Picture book. 4-6)

Kirkus Reviews