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Jeremiah Birnbaum and his family are rich, but his love of the banjo disturbs his parents. Can he convince his parents that there is nothing wrong with playing the banjo?
About the author
CARY FAGAN writes books for children and adults. He has won the Vicky Metcalf Award for Children's Literature, the Jewish Book Award, the IODE Jean Throop Book Award and the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award, among others. His picture books include
A Cage Went in Search of a Bird, illustrated by Banafsheh Erfanian, and
Son of Happy, illustrated by Milan Pavlovi¿, which was named one of the Best Canadian Picture Books of 2020 by CBC Books. Cary lives with his family in Toronto.
Summary
Nominee for the 2012 Silver Birch Express Award in the Ontario Library Association's Forest of Reading Program.
Jeremiah Birnbaum is stinking rich. He lives in a house with nine bathrooms, a games room, an exercise room, an indoor pool, a hot tub, a movie theater, a bowling alley and a tennis court. His parents, a former hotdog vendor and window cleaner who made it big in dental floss, make sure Jeremiah goes to the very best private school, and that he takes lessons in all the things he will need to know how to do as an accomplished and impressive young man: etiquette lessons, ballroom dancing, watercolor painting. And, of course, classical piano.
Jeremiah complies, because he wants to please his parents. But one day, by chance, he hears the captivating strains of a different kind of music -- the strums, plucks and rhythms of a banjo. It is music that stirs something in Jeremiah's dutiful little soul, and he is suddenly obsessed. And when his parents forbid him to play one, he decides to learn anyway -- even if he has to make the instrument himself.
Additional text
"… Fagan presents a sweet, quiet, and neatly packaged tale that emphasizes the importance of hard work and following your dreams in the face of adversity." —School Library Journal
"This bittersweet novel has just the right touch of wit and creativity to catch and keep the attention of young discerning readers." —Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children
"…this sweet, quirky little book hits all the right notes. Highly recommended." — CM Magazine
