Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma

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Description

The New York Times bestselling author ofEyes That Kiss in the Corners, Joanna Ho, delivers a poignant picture book biography about the musician Yo-Yo Ma, immigration, and using music to build bridges.

Winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor * Featured in Book Riots Must Read September 2021 List

By examining the life of Ma, whose story resonates with courage, persistence, and unity, Ho inspires readers to break barriers of their own. Horn Book (starred review)

Everyone can benefit from Hos message of music bringing calm and peace to the world. Booklist

Hopeful and lovely. Kirkus

An ambitious portrait of a storied humanitarian with a clear message of advocacy. Publishers Weekly

Joanna Hos lyrical writing and Teresa Martinezs vibrant art weave together to tell an inspiring story of Yo-Yo Ma, who challenges conventions, expectations, and beliefs in order to build bridges to unite communities, people, and cultures. A beautiful picture book biography to enjoy and share in the home and the classroom.

Before Yo-Yo Ma became one of the most renowned and celebrated cellists, he wanted to play the double bass. But it was too big for his four-year-old hands. Over time, Ma honed his amazing talent, and his music became a reflection of his own life between borders, cultures, disciplines, and generations.

Since then, he has recorded over a hundred albums, won nineteen Grammy Awards, performed for eight American presidents, and received the National Medal of the Arts and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, just to name a few accomplishments.

Staying true to himself, Yo-Yo Ma performed at the US-Mexico border at the Rio Grande on April 13, 2019, as part of his multi-continent Bach Project tour to prove a pointthrough music, we can build bridges rather than walls between different cultures.

Reviews

By examining the life of Ma, whose story resonates with courage, persistence, and unity, Ho inspires readers to break barriers of their own. Horn Book (starred review) A beautiful tribute to an award-winning musician with a heart much larger than the number of albums he has created and accolades he has garnered. New York Journal of Books Everyone can benefit from Hos message of music bringing calm and peace to the world. Booklist Hopeful and lovely. Kirkus Reviews An ambitious portrait of a storied humanitarian with a clear message of advocacy. Publishers Weekly

Author Bio

Joanna Ho is the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners; Eyes that Speak to the Stars; Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma; One Day; Say My Name; and The Silence that Binds Us, which received the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Young Adult Honor. She has been an English teacher, a dean, a vice principal, and a professional development mastermind. Her passion for equity in books and education is matched only by her love of homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids. Visit her at joannahowrites.com.