Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman from Peachtree Books

9781682637272 

Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman & illustrated by Isabelle Follath 

ISBN: 9781682637272
Hardcover $19.99
Peachtree Publishing

My thoughts:  Lovely shades of blues and pinks are used throughout the book to present the story of Beatrice's delight in the garden at night and the sweet song of the Nightingale bird. Feminine and gentle illustrations speak of grace and loveliness that the spirit feels when experiencing beautiful music - that of the cello or the Nightingale. Just as hearing bird song brings a bit of beauty to the listening mind and heart, soothing and enriching, relaxing and bringing a calming spirit deep within the being, so does the beauty of blooms, gardens, and kind beings we meet. Beatrice would be one of those kind people and she would be the bringer of the beauty of music to people. And then tagging alone with Beatrice's music would be the song of the Nightingale that Beatrice found so sweet and enriching.

This story is lovely. It is encouraging to someone desirous of pursuing musical richness. It is one that children can benefit from hearing. Picture book biographies are a delight and a source of much enrichment for children.

Backmatter about Beatrice is included and sure to aid parents, and older readers, in learning more about this rare event and charming personality.

Of note: Beatrice came from a musical family and lived surrounded by music. This provides a good environment for children to develop their own interest in and talent for musical skills.

About the book: In 1924, an audience of more than one million listeners across the world listened in amazement to the first live radio broadcast of a nightingale accompanying the young cellist Beatrice Harrison.

On May 19, 1924, a duet between a young cellist and a male nightingale was broadcast across the British Commonwealth as far away as Canada, India, and Australia to over one million listeners. It was an unprecedented collective experience made possible by the invention of the radio and a new microphone that picked up sounds of nature.

Beatrice Harrison, considered one of the greatest cellists of the 20th century and a musical prodigy, was that cellist. This biography describes Beatrice’s singular dedication to music from a very early age.

At the age of eighteen months, Beatrice attended her first concert. Catching sight of a cello and hearing it for the first time, she was bewitched and immediately began asking to play it. She got her first cello when she was about eight years old. Later, her parents moved the family to Germany so Beatrice could study with one of the best cello teachers. There, at age seventeen, she was awarded a prestigious prize, the youngest artist and only cellist to win at that time.

Back in the UK, the family moved to Surrey, England and Beatrice’s career flourished. One evening while Beatrice was practicing her cello in the garden, she heard a creature repeating the music she was playing. It turned out to be a nightingale. She played many nights with the bird and was completely enthralled. Wanting to share the experience, she convinced the head of the newly formed BBC to take a chance on a live broadcast from her garden. The resulting duet was a smashing success and Beatrice received more than 50,000 letters in response. Overnight, she became known as the Lady of the Nightingales and for twelve years thereafter the cellist and the bird were broadcast annually to BBC listeners from her garden in Surrey.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions expressed are solely my own and are freely given.