Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Cellist builds bridges in lovely tale of his life and work.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In PLAYING AT THE BORDER: A STORY OF YO-YO MA, musician Yo-Yo Ma sits on the banks of one nation, facing the shores across a river of another. While he plays Bach's famous cello suites, he hopes that his music can connect and bring together cultures, communities, and people. Readers also get a brief biography of Ma by the time his performance is done. We learn how Ma represents the bridging of different cultures and nations.
Is It Any Good?
This biographical picture book has superb art direction and illustrations and a positive message about bring people together. Author Joanna Ho does a great job at celebrating Ma's life and career, and specifically his performance at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2019. Part of his Bach Project (36 performances around the world) that aims to show how culture connects us, Ho shows how Ma's activism has built and continues to build bridges that bring different cultures, communities, and people together. Music can be one such bridge builder, and Ma's performance shows how art and music can impact and affect people all over the world.
While the art and messages in Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma are fantastic, some beginning readers might find some of the pages have too much text and can be difficult, with some big and sophisticated words, including boundary, prodigy, memorized, presidential, intersections, rediscovered, centuries, improbable, symphony.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how music is portrayed in Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma. How does the illustrator covey music on the page?
Why do you think Ma chose to play at the U.S.-Mexico border? How can music help bring peace?
What's your favorite picture in the book, and why?
Book Details
- Author: Joanna Ho
- Illustrator: Teresa Martinez
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Activism , Arts and Dance , Great Boy Role Models , History , Music and Sing-Along
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: September 28, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback
- Last updated: October 19, 2021
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
What to Read Next
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate