Skip to main content

Lang Lang: Playing With Flying Keys

By


Lang Lang was born in China in 1982. He began playing the piano at the age of 3. His father, realizing his son was a true prodigy, began to dream of his son being "number one". Lang Lang shares his incredible journey from near-poverty to playing in Carnegie Hall and with many of the top symphonies in the world. It was not an easy journey, nor was it always happy. His father made him practice at least 12 hours a day! At the age of 8 he and his father move to Beijing to further his chances. Lang Lang is separated from his mother for most of the next ten years or so. He missed her terribly and she him, but the father saw their closeness as a hindrance to Lang's future. There are many more heart-breaking, as well as some joyful, moments in this biography adapted for a younger audience by Michael French from Lang Lang's original autobiography. Lang Lang's life shows us how intense competition is in China. He feels that due to each family only being allowed to have one child, that one child has an immense amount of pressure on them to represent their family, their village and their country.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Faves: Witchy Intermediates

By
Hee hee hee! Hello, my pretties! Here are five short, illustrated chapter books for the season of the witch - some sweet, some spooky, all magical.  The Knitting Witch Written by Norma Kassirer Illustrated by Mark Richardson. Oakland, California : The Collective Book Studio, 2024. Intermediate. 88 pages. Outrageously spoiled Ivy Lou meets her match when a witch appears and tries to trick her into becoming her child. Ivy Lou must unravel the witch's dark magic and save her parents. A modern classic in the register of Roald Dahl, with mischief, humor and spookiness. Witchycakes: Sweet Magic  Written by Kara LaReau Illustrated by Ariane Moreira. New York : Random House Children's Books, 2025. Intermediate. 76 pages. Witchycakes  owes a lot to  Kiki's Delivery Service : a cute newbie witch making and delivering baked goods to the residents of their dreamy seaside town. It's cozy and sweet with lots of glowy illustrations. New Girl: Diary of an Accidental Witch Written by...
Post a Comment
Read more

Five Faves: Favorite Picture Books Focusing on Food and Family

By
Next month is a month where my family will plan lots of time together—most of which will be spent eating food together. And I wouldn’t be the librarian I am without sharing this list of great titles where food and family are the focus of each story. So, pull up a snack and settle in to read these five picture books that just might make you pull your loved ones closer while also reaching for a snack!  Fish Fry Friday Written by Winsome Bingham  Illustrated by C. G. Esperanza  New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2025. Picture Book. The young kid who is out of school for a Friday gets to spend the day with Granny. On Fridays, Granny goes and catches fish to use for the family fish fry on Friday nights. The narrator loves spending time with Granny as she teaches about fishing, filleting, and frying up good times with food and family.  Grilled Cheese? Yes, Please! By Tim Kleyn  New York: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2024. Picture Book.  ...
Post a Comment
Read more