Monday, November 8, 2010

Drums















Jungle Drums
by Graeme Base

Ngiri Mdogo is the smallest warthog in Africa. The other warthogs make fun of him because of his size. The warthogs are jealous of all of the other animals who live across the river. The other animals have a Grand Parade every year to give prizes to the most beautiful animal, and the warthogs do not enter. Ngiri goes to play with the other animals, but they make fun of him, too. On his way home, Ngiri meets Old Nyumbu, the oldest and wisest animal in the jungle and tells him that her hates being small. Old Nyumbu gives him a little set of bongo drums and tells him that they will give Ngiri whatever he wishes for. Ngiri plays the little drums all through the night. In the morning, he has not changed, but all of the other animals have lost the things that made them beautiful and the warthogs now have them. The warthogs decide to enter the parade to teach the other animals a lesson, and the other animals are afraid that the warthogs will win all of the prizes. The other animals demand that the warthogs give back all their markings, but the warthogs refuse. The animals say they will come and take them back. Ngiri is worried and plays the drums all night again. The other animals have their markings back the next morning, but the markings are on the wrong animals. They blame the warthogs and go across the river to confront them. The warthogs have also become more like the other animals, and they blame the other animals. As all of the animals are blaming one another, Ngiri admits it was his faults and tells them about the drums. The animals all tell Ngiri that they want to be back the way they were, and he plays the drums all night one more time. Will the animals all go back to normal? Will the animals still be mean to and tease Ngiri?




















Drum City
by Thea Guidone and illustrations by Vanessa Newton

A little starts drumming to invite other kids to come and drum with him on anything they can find. The children drum on bowls, buckets, cartons, barrels, pots, and pans. Then the children start marching and drumming, and there are hundreds and hundreds of little drums going. The people in the city hear the drums coming and wonder what the sound is. Everyone all over the city stops to listen to the sound. All of the adults join in with the drumming by drumming on cars or bicycles or just clapping their hands and stomping their feet. The group marches all over the city drumming, and everyone that sees them joins in. Can you join in with their drumming parade?
















Abigail’s Drum
by John A. Minahan and illustrations by Robert Quackenbush

Rebecca Bates stood playing her little fife after she finished with her chores. Everyone in her family enjoyed music. Her mother sand, her father played the fiddle, and her sister, Abigail, played a little drum. Her family runs the lighthouse, and Rebecca has lots of work to do since her mother is helping a sick cousin in Boston. Rebecca knows that the War of 1812 has started with England, but it seems very far away from her. Her father sees a boat that is in trouble, and he goes out to save the person in the boat. He is successful in saving the man, but the Rebecca sees a ship coming in with no lights. Her father goes to check on the ship and does not see it. The man he rescued tells him about the ship. Rebecca’s father saw a fire in town and decides to go check on things. The fisherman is concerned that it might be the British. When they get to town, they find a militia group called the Home Guard. They are worried that the British have burned down the boatyard that morning, and the Guard believes that they will keep the town safe. While keeping watch, Rebecca and Abigail practice playing Yankee Doodle like they heard the Home Guard playing. They hear the Home Guard marching away, and Rebecca’s father tells them that everyone should be alright then. While helping her father with the lighthouse, Rebecca notices that a rowboat has come ashore from a huge ship. A British soldier comes up to her and asks for an adult. The British soldier explains that they have come to take supplies from the town, and that the soldiers know that the town is no longer defended. They also inform Rebecca and her father that they are being held to keep the people in the town cooperative. Rebecca gets away from the soldiers and runs off. How will Rebecca and Abigail be able to help their father and the other members of the town? Can they think of a way to scare the British soldiers away?



















Two Sticks
by Orel Protopopescu and pictures by Anne Wilsdorf

Maybelle has two sticks, and she drums all over with them. Her parents do not like that she drums on everything. Maybelle would love to have any kind of drum to play on, but she has to drum on anything she can find, instead. She drums outside and across a log, but the sticks make holes in the log. Soon there are so many holes that she falls through the log into the swamp water below it. Alligators surround her, and all she has are the two sticks. She uses the alligators’ teeth to drum on, and the alligators all enjoy the music she makes. The alligators come home with her, and she shows her parents her new instruments. Will her parents buy her that drum that she wants, or will she have to keep her new friends to make music?

No comments: