Review: Klezmer!
Klezmer! written and illustrated by Kyra Teis Kar-Ben Publishing, an imprint of Lerner Publishing Group Category: Picture Books Reviewer: Karin Fisher-Golton Buy at Bookshop.org With rhythmic, lyrical writing and colorful, movement-filled collage illustrations, Kyra Teis has joyfully met the challenge of representing music in picture book form. In Klezmer! a clarinet-playing girl, whose curly red-orange locks flow to the beat, makes a trip into New York City to see “klezmer’s family and friends, clarinet and violin, from Uptown, Downtown, and Lower East Side.” Accordion and bass show up too—along with a group of musicians who are diverse in age, skin tone, and head coverings. The main text is light on explanation, but provides something more elusive—an experience and a tam (a flavor or taste). For those wanting a bit more detail, there’s an “About Klezmer Music” section in the back, as well as a QR code that accesses a video of a klezmer performance. Most of the cars