THE PIANO

A little white girl is excited to find a piano in her front yard one morning, but her neighbors are equally interested in claiming it.

Bright colors and bold graphics set the stage for a drama that begins with a piano rolling off the back of a truck in the middle of the night. Filippa, already an accomplished harmonica player, has always dreamed of playing the piano. Her friends have their own ideas, however. André the Donkey uses it as a cafe table, and Snoozy the Cat finds it an ideal place for a nap. Meanwhile, a multispecies band called “Gig Time” has lost a piano in the middle of the night, leaving the brown-skinned, mustachioed human pianist scratching his head as he sits on a pickle jar. When he and Filippa meet, it’s the start of a lively musical friendship that gets everyone involved. Mixed-media illustrations convey controlled chaos in poster-art style with lots of geometric shapes. Colors stray outside the lines, polka dots contrast with straight lines, and young readers will have ample opportunity to find hidden treasures in the pages. Originally published in Finland, this is the first book in a new series that’s sure to find new fans.

A charming, imaginative story about friendship and building community