Ben's Trumpet

Thanks to Shakira Harris for such descriptive writing!

        Mojorano, R. I. (1979). Ben's trumpet. New York: Greenwillow books.

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Ben's Trumpet, by Rachel Majorano gives off the vibe of funk and soul. The black and white illustrations and images take me to a place where I have never been. As I flip the pages I imagine the Harlem Renaissance, a time when jazz and blues could be heard playing in the background while walking up and down the streets of New York. The setting of story is vividly depicted with out the use of color. The building's architectural features paint pictures that are as cool as the author's words. The illustrator dramatically used negative space to illustrate the musicians and their instruments   The costumes used on the characters also add to the hip, suave culture that is being depicted.  

                 The author tells the story of young Ben who is convinced he is playing his imaginary trumpet. When Ben isn't playing his trumpet to his family, he listens to the music from the band at the Zig Zag Jazz Club.The conflict arrives when the kids in the neighborhood laugh at Ben because he doesn't really have a trumpet. You see a transformation in Ben's character as he abandons his trumpet and sits solemnly with his head down.  As the reader you connect to Ben although he uses very little dialogue. This story could be used in a music class to teach students that they should be committed to their instruments. One lesson that I learned was that a child's imagination shouldn't be tampered with. Although Ben doesn't have a real instrument, he is devoted to his love for music. His devotion showed that if given a real instrument he would spend the right amount of time and energy developing his craft. In the end of the book Ben is given the opportunity to play a real instrument. The reader is left with finishing Ben's story. 
                 I enjoyed the style used in the illustrations. The illustrator used double spread on many of pages which helped show the great large scenes. I felt like I was looking at a set on a theater stage. The story was told in third person which added to the mood. I read the story to my five year old son. He thought that Ben really had a trumpet the entire time. The illustrations of Ben playing his trumpet are so believable that you don't even notice that he is mimicking the real trumpet players. 

Big Idea Questions:
Why do you think Ben stopped playing his trumpet when the kids told him he didn't have a trumpet?
What would happen to Ben's dreams if he never got to play a real trumpet?