The Magnificent Piano Recital

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University and an avid outdoor recreationist. She is the
author of several books, including The Mountain Is Moving: Japanese
Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret Laurence: T

Arabella and her mother, who are rather exotic, arrive in mid-winter in
a northern sawmill town. Their baggage includes a piano, and
Arabella’s mother plans to teach the local children to play. At
school, Arabella’s ringlets, hair ribbon, and white stockings offend
her teacher, Mrs. Bat. When it is time for band practice, Mrs. Bat makes
sure that Arabella gets the last instrument: a pair of square wooden
blocks. Meanwhile, Arabella’s mother is knocking on doors and nailing
up posters that offer piano lessons.

The following spring, Arabella’s mother holds the town’s first
piano recital. There has never been such an affair in the Quonset hut.
Her pupils’ pieces are well received, but when Arabella plays, the
music soars, floating above the loggers, the truck drivers, and all the
parents. They love it. Even Mrs. Bat is impressed, and the next day she
shows her appreciation by letting Arabella choose first from the box of
rhythm band instruments.

The Magnificent Piano Recital follows a classic pattern of difficulties
overcome and hurt feelings healed. The full-page illustrations by
husband-and-wife team Laura Fernandez and Rick Jacobson capture the
tale’s mood perfectly, deepening the emotional weight and helping to
bring the rough logging town into sharp focus. Marilynn Reynolds’s
stories are often inspired by family tales, her own childhood memories,
and pioneer life. Some of her other acclaimed picture books include The
Prairie Fire (1999) and The New Land (1997). Highly recommended.