Pitch Perfect and Persistent!
The Musical Debut of Amy Cheney Beach

This biography for children ages K-4 chronicles the early musical development and career of nineteenth-century American musician Amy Cheney Beech, whom I had never heard of before. The illustrations are charming. Jay's illustrations are simple enough to not overwhelm the story or young readers, but t......more

What do you call a one-year-old girl who hums, perfectly and on pitch, forty-four different familiar tunes? A two-year-old who confidently sings out an anthem from start to finish, every word accurate, every note on pitch? A child who identifies notes and chords by color and emotion? Most would call h......more

Pitch Perfect and Persistent! The Musical Debut of Amy Cheney Beach by Caitlin DeLems; illustrated by Alison Jay Pub Date 21 Mar 2023 Astra Publishing House, Calkins Creek Biographies & Memoirs | Children's Nonfiction I am reviewing a copy of Pitch Perfect and Persistent through Astra Publishing House......more

This picture book biography is about a young female musician who overcome cultural barriers and her mother's legalistic religious disapproval to learn, perform, and compose music. The story feels a bit rushed and leaves out some transitional details that are only explained properly in the author's n......more

Born in 1867 Amy Marcy Cheney showed an affinity for music from a very early age. She was a prodigy in more ways than one, but her mother wanted her daughter to live a normal life, out of the spotlight. Such was not to be. At four she was composing her first waltzes and when her mother finally gave......more