posted on 20 Mar 2025

Hannah and the Violin by Satoshi Kitamura

It is always a treat to see a new picture book by this internationally acclaimed author and illustrator who is a valued friend to The Letterpress Project. His distinctive artistic style along with his carefully considered text make his books a delightful experience for readers of all ages. I recently shared The Smile Shop as one example at a workshop for parents about the power of picture books. One dad commented that he was reminded of the paintings of L.S. Lowry ‘because of the deceptively simple way that he presented the complicated world’. This ability to distil the important features in a landscape or a character is often what appeals to children. When I looked at several of his picture books with Year 5 children, they really liked his clear cartoonish illustrations, obviously influenced by reading comics when he was young, and his freshly coloured palette. They also very much enjoyed the succinct storytelling which always gives an unusual angle on the world.

I shared Hannah and the Violin with a group of six year old children who were immediately intrigued with the cover that shows a girl floating through a busy deep blue sky with eyes firmly closed, apparently using a stick and a leaf as a violin! We spent some time talking about whether she had magic powers or that she was maybe dreaming. One of the boys focussed on the three creatures in the green landscape below and noticed that the cat didn’t seem to be aware of her. What was he thinking about?

As the story unfolds we learnt that Hannah is a lonely girl with a big imagination. When she spots a leaf on the grass, she is inspired by its shape which reminds her of a violin. And so she triggers a response from one bird whose song attracts others to surround her, then multiple insects and even clouds. For me, this shows the beauty of spending time with young children who will improvise and be creative with almost anything if encouraged. We all loved the double page spread that showed the natural world coming alive as she played her music - so much detail to look at.

When at last her mother calls her in from the garden for dinner, she asks her and Grandpa if they heard her playing the violin. They hadn’t but we were very pleased to see her after dinner recital to the attentive adults and several appreciative toys who are shown playing their own instruments. I couldn’t help myself pointing out that there was not a screen in sight and asked the children if they thought Hannah was bored at home? Lots of interesting discussion about this but we agreed that sometimes it was great to just use one’s imagination to have fun.

I strongly recommend this beautiful and thought-provoking picture book originally published in Japan but this revised edition is now published in hardback by Scallywag Press Ltd and should be available in your local independent bookshop, who will be happy to order it if not already on their shelves.

 

Karen Argent

March 2025