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My Voice Is a Trumpet
*"The rhythm and flow of words perfectly match the art while advising readers to choose love and use their voices in a powerful song." -- School Library Journal (starred review)
From rising country star Jimmie Allen comes a lyrical celebration of the many types of voices that can effect change.
From voices tall as a tree, to voices small as a bee, all it takes is confidence and a belief in the goodness of others to change the world. Coming at a time when issues of social justice are at the forefront of our society, this is the perfect book to teach children in and out of the classroom that they're not too young to express what they believe in and that all voices are valuable.
The perfect companion for little readers going back to school!
From rising country star Jimmie Allen comes a lyrical celebration of the many types of voices that can effect change.
From voices tall as a tree, to voices small as a bee, all it takes is confidence and a belief in the goodness of others to change the world. Coming at a time when issues of social justice are at the forefront of our society, this is the perfect book to teach children in and out of the classroom that they're not too young to express what they believe in and that all voices are valuable.
The perfect companion for little readers going back to school!
32 pages, Hardcover
First published July 13, 2021
1 person is currently reading
150 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
July 18, 2022
Rating: 5 leaves out of 5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children
Type: Book
Worth?: Yeah
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Genre: Children
Type: Book
Worth?: Yeah
July 11, 2021
good seeing you guys tonight @Walmart and @Facebook 🙂
September 24, 2021
Unlike others who loved this book and the reviewer in School Library Journal who saw the text as "flowing" and perfectly complemented by the illustrations, I found some of the lines and rhymes awkward and strained. Perhaps the idea of having a voice "as tall as a tree" (unpaged) or "sunny and bright" (unpaged) would have worked better if there were no attempts to rhyme the following lines. Claiming and expressing one's own voice is an important part of growing up and embracing one's identity, which makes this picture book potentially useful for parents, caregivers, and teachers, but youngsters will have to do quite a bit of reading between the lines and illustrations to understand some of what's happening in the images. Presumably, the narrator realizes that one of her classmates is being shunned by the others and reaches out to her in one scenario, while in another one, a diverse group of children seem to be having fun just hanging out with each other. In still another one, three children display posters about environmental activism and stamping out bullies. followed by two pages in which different youngsters display a poster or sign protesting bullying and advocating peaceful solutions to violent conflicts. I like the idea behind this book, but I wasn't fond of the execution. Using one's voice to amplify what's wrong in the world and make a change is important rather than sitting silently by and letting others be mistreated or injustices to prevail, but I'm not sure young readers will get that point from reading this picture book. Anything that supports positive change and speaking up against what's wrong can't be easily dismissed out of hand, of course. Still, I've read this one multiple times and still feel the same way I did about it originally.
October 10, 2022
This rhyming lyrical, poetic and inspirational story is all about using the voice you have to stand up, and take charge of the life you have. Showing courage for the things you believe in will help make the changes you seek.
January 8, 2022
A beautiful picture book told in simple rhyme about finding and owning your voice.
February 9, 2023
The illustrations are phenomenal, the text is a song, a call to social justice activism. While some of that will obviously go over the heads of the target audience, this book could be used effectively in a group by the right reader. There's a story in the illustrations about bullying and finding your voice to stand up for what you believe in right. Whether you're going to use this book in story time or one-on-one with a child, be prepared to discuss the illustrations and the power of using one's own voice. At the same time, be prepared to teach the importance of listening to others who are using their voices for good, too!
August 20, 2021
So so cute!!
September 27, 2021
Speaking up is not easy. Allen takes readers through ways they can speak up for themselves and others. Lovely illustrations support the theme.
April 13, 2021
Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.
July 29, 2022
With the lyricism of a song, this book affirming the power of our voices is well-written and attractively presented. For a book by an already-famous country music star, this was surprising in that it was both an original text rather than a set of song lyrics and was not co-written or ghostwritten for a child audience. It was very well done. I was impressed.
January 7, 2023
I gave it an extra star because the art is quite attractive. I like the color palette and I like the use of digital layering effects to give it a lot of texture.
The book itself though, lacked everything worthwhile.
It's a song. A song about activism, and how you need to use your voice...or your sign language...to speak out against anything and everything that is wrong while making sure to listen and learn from everyone else.
You know, it's really quite hard to listen to other people when you are busy using your voice. Using your voice usually requires you to be talking...or singing, or some such thing which makes it quite difficult to hear what others are saying. Try it sometime, talk and read at the same time. I don't mean read aloud. I mean maintain a conversation while reading something. See how much you retain. Very little. Or just take out the maintaining a conversation part, read something and listen to someone else talking, you retain very little. I know, my students try it constantly under the guise of multi-tasking. Then they complain when they get a low grade, or say 'you never covered this in class'. Oh yes I did. It's right there on slide 4. Sigh.
I'm not an advocate of the old school saying that children are to be seen and not heard. But neither am I an advocate of today's phenomenon where children are to be listened to about everything and pandered to. A child should not lead us, simply because of the lack of experience and cognitive abilities. Children are innocent, that doesn't make them wise. I do think they should use their voices, but I think they should use their voices to ask questions, and then they should listen to the answers, because that's how they learn. Even the title makes me shiver "My voice is a trumpet." Trumpets are really loud, you can't really hear anything else when you have a trumpet going off in your ear. If everyone is trumpeting, no one is listening, if no one is listening, what's the point of trying to communicate at all?
Shallow nostrums.
Narrative: Nonexistent
Art: Cute
Price: $17.99
I have recently learned, from the marketing specialist at my job, that the reason these books are so expensive is because of the printing techniques that they use. Apparently they are quite expensive. I don't know, Berenstein bears and Dr. Seuss don't use such fancy printing techniques and they are still quite popular. I think these books are trying to compensate for their shallowness.
The book itself though, lacked everything worthwhile.
It's a song. A song about activism, and how you need to use your voice...or your sign language...to speak out against anything and everything that is wrong while making sure to listen and learn from everyone else.
You know, it's really quite hard to listen to other people when you are busy using your voice. Using your voice usually requires you to be talking...or singing, or some such thing which makes it quite difficult to hear what others are saying. Try it sometime, talk and read at the same time. I don't mean read aloud. I mean maintain a conversation while reading something. See how much you retain. Very little. Or just take out the maintaining a conversation part, read something and listen to someone else talking, you retain very little. I know, my students try it constantly under the guise of multi-tasking. Then they complain when they get a low grade, or say 'you never covered this in class'. Oh yes I did. It's right there on slide 4. Sigh.
I'm not an advocate of the old school saying that children are to be seen and not heard. But neither am I an advocate of today's phenomenon where children are to be listened to about everything and pandered to. A child should not lead us, simply because of the lack of experience and cognitive abilities. Children are innocent, that doesn't make them wise. I do think they should use their voices, but I think they should use their voices to ask questions, and then they should listen to the answers, because that's how they learn. Even the title makes me shiver "My voice is a trumpet." Trumpets are really loud, you can't really hear anything else when you have a trumpet going off in your ear. If everyone is trumpeting, no one is listening, if no one is listening, what's the point of trying to communicate at all?
Shallow nostrums.
Narrative: Nonexistent
Art: Cute
Price: $17.99
I have recently learned, from the marketing specialist at my job, that the reason these books are so expensive is because of the printing techniques that they use. Apparently they are quite expensive. I don't know, Berenstein bears and Dr. Seuss don't use such fancy printing techniques and they are still quite popular. I think these books are trying to compensate for their shallowness.
October 6, 2021
"My Voice Is a trumpet" is written by Jimmie Allen and illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson. This book was such a gem to read, and had so many encouraging statements for young children from ages 3-7. This book talks about the many voices that we can have such as: "loud and proud, soft and sweet, patient and wise, sunny and bright, silent but still heard, voices that roar like a lion, voices that are strong and clear, and allow us to wonder and learn". As a future educator, I think this book would make a great addition to my classroom, because it has such a powerful message about standing up for what is right and to speak up for those who cannot. It can be a great book to help elementary kids find their voice, whatever that may be, and share their opinions with friends, family, and peers. The imagery was colorful, diverse, and did a splendid job of highlighting the words on the page. Our voices can be so powerful, but at times we doubt ourselves, however; books like "My Voice Is a trumpet" can be a great tool to give kids the confidence to use their voices and make a change.
September 14, 2021
MY VOICE IS A TRUMPET
By Jimmie Allen
Illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson
Narrated by Mary Beth Adair
Listening Library, 2021
Country music star Jimmie Allen's first book for children focuses on the ways in which people can use their voices to show emotion, kindness, caring, curiosity, and to affect change. Read a bit stiffly by Mary Beth Adair, we learn, in a obviously scripted interview at the end, that Adair is Allen's former kindergarten teacher, the first person he remembers reading a book to him. Illustrated with a rich, colorful palette, showcasing a diverse cast of children, by former Hallmark artist Cathy Ann Johnson, the book works as a read-along, with time allowed for turning the pages. Words and pictures don’t always mesh, but this is a good start to conversations about speaking up for what one needs and what one believes.
By Jimmie Allen
Illustrated by Cathy Ann Johnson
Narrated by Mary Beth Adair
Listening Library, 2021
Country music star Jimmie Allen's first book for children focuses on the ways in which people can use their voices to show emotion, kindness, caring, curiosity, and to affect change. Read a bit stiffly by Mary Beth Adair, we learn, in a obviously scripted interview at the end, that Adair is Allen's former kindergarten teacher, the first person he remembers reading a book to him. Illustrated with a rich, colorful palette, showcasing a diverse cast of children, by former Hallmark artist Cathy Ann Johnson, the book works as a read-along, with time allowed for turning the pages. Words and pictures don’t always mesh, but this is a good start to conversations about speaking up for what one needs and what one believes.
September 30, 2021
A rhyming book centered on the theme of using your voice and all the different ways that can sound like, look like, and feel. This is a theme book, not a story, and some of the book's poetic stanzas aren't supported as well as they could be by the illustrations. An easy edit when reading aloud to make this book more gender inclusive would be to change the stanza "I'll use my voice/to find joy in others,/reminding us all we're sisters and brothers" to "I'll use my voice/to find joy in all things/reminding us that we're all siblings."
Themes: You can do it!, Speak Up!, Self esteem, We're all the same/we're all different
Age range: Toddler- Kindergarten
Themes: You can do it!, Speak Up!, Self esteem, We're all the same/we're all different
Age range: Toddler- Kindergarten
February 26, 2024
This book is about teaching children how to talk about their opinions and how you're never too young to learn that your voice matters. It also is about how all voices matter. This book was written by a country music artist and I know from previous lessons that they may not be the best authors but, it is a picture book that features everyone and has a great meaning. My only concern with this book is that there was no one with a visible disability. There was lots of cultural and racial diversity but no physical diversity. I would use this book in my classroom to let children know that they have a say and their voices will be heard.
October 20, 2021
Bumpy, lumpy rhymes coupled with sweet, blank-eyed illustrations (the illustrator worked for Hallmark) to try and make up a book that teaches children the power of speaking up. Will children understand? I'm not so sure. There are many types of allusions throughout that children may miss, especially if they take things literally as many children do. Speaking up in tough situations is difficult enough without having to try and decode poetic adult code about how one's speech should be.
March 7, 2022
We all have a voice, whether it’s “loud and proud”, “silent”, “small as a bee”,
“We all have voices, voices to hear. My voice is a trumpet - strong and clear.”
Our voices are powerful and we are all meant to be heard. Our voices may all sound different and only when we speak up (and deservedly so), can we effect change.
A lovely illustrated children’s book with lyrical text and a powerful message.
“We all have voices, voices to hear. My voice is a trumpet - strong and clear.”
Our voices are powerful and we are all meant to be heard. Our voices may all sound different and only when we speak up (and deservedly so), can we effect change.
A lovely illustrated children’s book with lyrical text and a powerful message.
July 10, 2023
When a platinum-selling country music crooner -- Jimmie Allen -- authors a book with this title, he might have something interesting to say.
He opens up an inquiry into the voices of picture book readers, encouraging them to use their voices with self-respect.
I'll give this book FIVE STARS, between the inspiring call to self-help and the GORGEOUS illustrations by artist Cathy Ann Johnson.
A couple of comments will spill over into a ... well, a comment.
He opens up an inquiry into the voices of picture book readers, encouraging them to use their voices with self-respect.
I'll give this book FIVE STARS, between the inspiring call to self-help and the GORGEOUS illustrations by artist Cathy Ann Johnson.
A couple of comments will spill over into a ... well, a comment.
October 6, 2021
Read "Say Something!" by Peter Reynolds instead. This one's meter is off and half the illustrations are confusing. WHAT is happening in the cafeteria? Is the girl with the pizza a bully? She seems to be minding her own business, and I couldn't find her earlier in the book. Is she an environmental bully? Why is her "Save the Earth" sign being countered by cafeteria girl's anti-bullying one?
November 27, 2021
After attending WaiPRU and listening to discussions about the difference between rhyme and rhythm, I have to say that a couple of the rhymes in this felt a little clunky. But it didn't matter to me as the messages of everyone having a voice and them all being different just resonated as empowering for everyone who picks up this book.
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March 4, 2024This story was a great lesson for students that, no matter their age, their voices deserve to be heard, and when they recognize an injustice, they should be acknowledged. This book would be a great addition to my classroom as I want students to feel confident in their voice and their opinions. I would use this as a read aloud and in my library.
July 19, 2021
I mean, I love Jimmie Allen. And I love how this book encourages children to find their own voice - and that each voice is different. Each voice is needed and valued. I loved seeing a page for children who use ASL. The illustrations only add to the text!
November 4, 2021
This is an amazing book about social justice and learning to use your voice for what is right. This would be a great book to have in your classroom and use it throughout the year to remind students to be kind.
Published:2021
Genre:Poetry
Published:2021
Genre:Poetry
November 21, 2021
Use your voice! In this book we learn about the different ways we can change the world around us by speaking up. This is a very diverse book and I think students would be able to see that anybody and everybody can advocate for a better world.
January 4, 2022
These rhymes might work better in a country song with musical accompaniment to add more rhythm and texture to make these truisms sound less trite. The artwork leaves readers to guess what’s happening in many illustrations, such as the conundrum in the cafeteria and the oddly disquieting rainbow.
February 27, 2022
I gave it 4 stars because of the message of this book. It explains all these ways you can use your voice for the good and how everyone has a voice and you should be proud to use it. Not too much of a story with a plot but is a good moral story for children
July 20, 2021
We all have a voice. It’s how we use it in this life that’s important.
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July 30, 2021This was read to the girls by the NV governor (Sisolak) at a library story time event.
September 2, 2021
I liked this picture book. It has a great message but it felt like it was rhyming and then kind of stop near the end. It threw off the rhythm for a moment but still cute book with a great message.
September 2, 2021
Nice rhymes and themes, but the illustrations are a bit underwhelming. Many of the pages are a bit hard to connect the image to the themes in the narrative. Great overall message though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews