Summer Moonlight Concert

by Han Han
Age Range: 6-8

What happens when the power goes out in the middle of preparing dinner? Xiaomi, her family, and her neighbours decide to take advantage of a quiet night by creating music together in the courtyard, fostering spirit and dance. Xinyi Tan translates Chinese author Han Han’s story of this musical gathering in a small city in 1990s southern China, and young readers become aware of the traditional Chinese instrument, the erhu, accompanied by the western instrument, the accordion.

The 40-page hardbound Summer Moonlight Concert is not only written by Han, but she also provides original, immersive illustrations of the nighttime and the vast amount of small-town community members who join the concert little by little upon hearing beautiful music. In addition to the illustrations making the story engaging, this book is a part of The Secret Mountain’s new classical music series, so it contains a CD and code to download recordings of the music in the back of the book. Han Han’s premise for the book is to encourage children to cherish and take advantage of special moments such as the ones in which they are surrounded by those whom they love.

Catherine Hurwitz (Oct 2021)