The Piano

by William J. Miller, Susan Keeter (Illustrator)

Lasting Connection Title, Book Links
Notable Books for a Global Society, International Library Association (ILA)
Honor Book - Grade K-6 Social Studies, Society of School Librarians International Set in the deep South of the early 1900s, an African American girl learns to play the piano from her white employer and their mutual love of music rewards them with a friendship that transcends age and race. Tia loves music. She walks the summer streets searching for new sounds and different kinds of music that will transport her from the hot, dry town where she lives to imaginary places filled with castles, mountains, and deep snow. One day, Tia wanders into the white section of town. Soon she is transfixed by a wonderful melody that drifts towards her from one of the houses. Without thinking, Tia accepts a maid's job from Miss Hartwell, the woman who lives there, just so she can hear more of the music. The Piano is an uplifting story of caring, friendship, and the connections that can develop between people, no matter how different their ages and backgrounds.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Picture Books, Music, Friendship, African American, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Che · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about a young girl's love of music. She develops a relationship with an older woman in a nearby neighborhood and works out a deal to work in exchange for piano lessons. I love the way the book illustrated the girl's love of music and its ability to transform her from her life to a new experience. However, I think adding the comments about white people's money, without hinting at the historical landscape that would lead to those comments was a little off-putting. In my opinion, it just felt "thrown in". I wouldn't read it to a child without giving the historical backstory. I think the story would have been equally effective without it. But that's just my opinion. It's not enough to ruin the story, or to prevent me from recommending it to anyone else, but it does bother me enough to lower my star rating. While this isn't a book I would add to my children's story collection to share with the children in my life, I am glad I read it. The illustrations were great and I'll look out for more books illustrated by Susan Keeter.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story set in the Deep South in the early 1900s about a young black girl who loves music and makes a friend with a middle-class white woman who has a piano. The girl doesn't know how to play and the woman's hands have grown too stiff to press the keys but together they learn to make music.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

We like that the girl is sweet and helpful and makes an unexpected friend.

[Majken Straarup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary:
The book "The Piano" is about a little black girl called Tia. Tia loves music and one day she hears beautiful music and follows it. The music comes from a house where she ends up being a maid for an old lady named Miss Hartwell. Miss Hartwell has a piano that Tia if very fascinated by. Miss Hartwell teaches her how to play and the two of them become friends.

Themes:
Friendship in all ages, different social classes and about getting older

Personal response:
I think it was a good book with different themes. It is about helping others and that friendship comes in different sizes and ages. The book is also an Afro-American girl that works for a white old lady and they come from different social classes. I think that it is an important message to give the children that it does not matter if you are old or young, black or white, rich or poor.
But there could have been a page or two more about the ending because the ending is very short.

Recommendation:
I will recommend this book to children in the ages of 6-8. I will recommend it to learn about friendships and different backgrounds in general, but also in the classroom to start a discussion about different communities and backgrounds.

[Cassidy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tia loves music and while she was on a walk she followed the sound of music. Her following this sound brought her to an old woman's house and she ends up working for her. While Tia is cleaning the old woman's house the old woman agrees to help teach her how to play the piano. I gave this book 4 stars because the old woman did not have to teach Tia how to play but she did anyway, one thing I did not like about the book was that it ended with Tia just beginning to learn how to play piano, so the reader never knows if she fully learns. The illustrations of the book were very interesting since they looked like paintings.

[Marissa Ellis · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a charming book that represents true love and friendship between two people in a historical time where it was not common. I gave it five stars because of how well it communicates its ideas and for how vivid the illustrations are.

Six+1: Ideas

Guided Reading: N
Lexile: 440

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
Little Tia was born loving music. She would wander down the streets during the day and followed where ever music would take her. One day she followed the sweet sound of a piano coming from the white part of town. Even though she had never been there before, she couldn't resist the sweet sound of the music. When Tia approached a house a young African American boy named Johnny, asked if she was here for the job. Mesmerized by the music she went with the flow and ended up doing the cleaning for an elderly white woman named Miss Hartwell. One of the first things Tia noticed was a beautiful piano in the home. When Miss Hartwell would go upstairs for her nap, Tia would test out the magnificent instrument. As time went on, Tia learned how to play the piano from Miss Hartwell, despite the aging fingers. A beautiful bond forms between the two ladies of diverse cultures.

Response:
I was drawn to this book because of the piano. I do not have a love for it like Tia did, but I did take lessons for a little while as a child. I really enjoyed the book because it defied the "norm" for that period of history in the south. A black child would not typically go to the white part of town, but she did and it blossomed into a wonderful relationship.
This book reminds me of a children's version of The Help. It is not nearly as detailed or realistic for that time period, but it showed how an African American who worked for a white woman can become friends. My favorite part is the last page when you see Tia and Miss Hartwell smiling at each other at the piano. It was heartwarming.

Classroom Connection:
I would use this book to read during a unit on segregation or music. It can be useful in both scenarios. This book could prompt children to write how they learned to play and instrument or what instrument they would like to learn to play.

Text Complexity:
This book has an interest level of grades 3-5. The grade equivalent is 3.5 and the Lexile is 440. I think that children in grades 3+ could read this book independently. There are not too many difficult words and it is not a lengthy book.

[Lauma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the early 1900's, a young African-American girl's love for music led her across the tracks into the white, wealthy section of town. "When (Tia) heard music, she forgot where she lived, how old she was, and where she went to school. Tia spent her days searching for music." When she past by a stately home of an elderly white woman, she heard music that she had never heard before--music that made her think of "castles, mountains, and deep new snow." Thought to be applying for the maid's job, Tia reluctantly took the position so she can be closer to the music. That resulted in a heart-warming relationship with Miss Hartwell, and an opportunity to learn to play the piano.

A beautiful picture book that tells a great story about the transforming power of music, and how friendships can transcend differences in ages and backgrounds. The reading level of the book Fountas and Pinnell O, and would be interesting for KG through 4th. For a teacher's guide to this book, the website at www.leeandlow.com/images/pdfs/piano.pdf provides many classroom discussion ideas.

[Jazmin Lomeli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book takes place during segregation in the 60's, and it deals with a little girl who takes a job as a maid at a wealthy white ladies home. The twist is the only reason she took the job was because the lady had a piano and she fell in love with the way it sounded and wanted to know more. She did her job, and in her spare time after getting to know her they became good friends and she started to give her lessons. There was another little boy who worked at the house as well and when the little girl found out he was leaving to another house she was shocked and he simply said that he didn't care about the old lady he just wanted to get paid. This showed the attitude the little ones had at that time.
The illustrations give you an old time feel and are appropriate for that time.

[Q_Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Young African American girl in the Deep South during the 1900s who loves music and wanders into the white part of town and becomes enraptured by the music she hears coming from one of the homes, she hires on as a maid to be closer to the music and becomes a piano pupil of the woman who owns the home. While somewhat implausible that she could travel so often and freely in that part of town, the story is more about reaching across the division of race through a shared love of music and its power to spin magic.

[Amie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Taken from Goodreads review:

"Set in the deep South of the early 1900s, this is the story of an African-American girl who learns to play the piano from her white employer. In return, she shows the elderly woman the power of friendship and caring. Luminous oil paintings skillfully evoke the mood and the time."

Grades 1-5

[Kathryn Eder · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully illustrated with amazing water colors that help illustrate the text. It is a story about a black girl named Tia who loves music so much that she accepts a job as a maid in a white woman's home. She helps the woman see how important friendship and caring for others is in a time when whites and blacks were segregated.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was a touching children's story that reminded me, vaguely, of Christ washing the disciples' feet. My daughter, on the other hand, shouted at the second to last page, "This is BORING."

[Kimberly Wright Oelkers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story really touched my heart, because I learned to play the piano when I was Tia's age.