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Music and superstition

A dichotomy between good and bad is often represented within the one creature; and Ireland isn’t the only country with special musical folk.

The Graveyard Book

Other than the very spooky cover, the first thing I noticed about The Graveyard Book was the index. There are only eight chapters!

What it's like to be strange

In my stories as a child, I was so interested in finding the right word; I didn’t bother about how to spell them, and it led me to ponder…

The Castle of Creation

This idea certainly came from left field. It’s untypical, strange and unusual—the definition of left field apparently

Rip Van Winkle and Sleepy Hollow

After reading Narnia last week, a book from my childhood, I remembered another I’d been given for my sixth birthday; Rip Van Winkle.

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

One sentence stuck with me. ‘Someday you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.’ Well, that's happened to me.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

I re-read this book in the school holidays. Instead of practicing for a concert, I think you’ll agree, it’s eminently more sensible.

The Butterfly Club

A middle-grade mystery always appeals to me, and this one’s set in Paris! Not only that, the protagonists are a group of canny time-thieves.

The Phantom Tollbooth

Okay, I’ve just unearthed Ferdinand’s all-time favourite musical book. I’m calling it now, as I don’t believe it will ever be beaten…

Wildwood

Naturally, I love fantastical animals, and this book was full of them. A mastiff in a suit, a Labrador in Khakis, Coyotes in army regalia...

The Body Under the Piano

When I first discovered this book, I was bursting with fruit flavour. Every type; banana, watermelon, strawberry, kiwi… strawberry and kiwi.

Music Learned from the Fairies

Being blessed with music from the fairies, might indeed be a curse—and there is a lot of that going around.

Fairyland

The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making The first thing I loved about this book is the title. How fantastic,...

Innate ability and talent

There appears no doubt about musical prodigies—there was something special in the water the day that they were born.

The Right Way to Rock

For fans of musicals, this is a book for you. No doubt the tunes will be so familiar, that as you read, you’ll be able to sing the songs.

The Land of Stories

The first book in the Land of Stories is not officially a musical one… however, there is music in it.

Echo by Pam Muñoz Ryan

If you wish to be moved, inspired, and amazed by the incredible stories middle-grade authors are telling, this is certainly the book for you

The Mystwick School of Musicraft

Today, Ferdinand and I finished the very entertaining audio book of The Mystwick School of Musicraft. We enjoyed it immensely.

Have I just been down a rabbit hole?

Imagining a place our music exists outside ourselves is fascinating to me. Where does sound go when we play it? Where does it come from?

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