Young siblings are lured into a late-night musical adventure by the beckoning sound of their father's jazz band in The Band in Our Basement, a tuneful and exuberant picture book by Kelly J. Baptist, with illustrations from Jenin Mohammed.
On the title page a child spots visitors in their driveway at bedtime. "Daddy's band is in our basement.../ We can't fall asleep!" Mama gives a knowing glance while tucking in the narrator's brother, then backs from the room with a loving directive: "Go right to bed/ and do not make a peep!" But a trumpet soon sounds while a bass guitar thrums and, before long, the siblings' wiggly toes and giggles give way to full-blown smiles and silent dancing on their beds. With the page turn, "Kenny grins and whispers" a plan to "sneak downstairs and watch them play" while, on the righthand page, readers see the silhouetted scene in his imagination. When the narrator concedes, the pair tiptoe "Careful, careful down the stairs." They creep further still to where "the music gives a ROAR!" Tucked low behind the banisters, the siblings are moved by the music and thrilled to recognize a guest singer--"That's Mama's voice/ stealing the show!" She tenderly admonishes the little spies: "My my my, funny as can be!/ Got four li'l eyes think I don't see./ My my my, hear what I say:/ Those four li'l feet betta scurry away!" But the band calls the children back and extends an invitation to join them, making the jam session a full family affair. Eventually, exhausted, the kids "say goodnight" and "head to bed without a fight."
Baptist rekindles the linguistic exuberance she used in The Electric Slide and Kai by mixing rhyme schemes and occasionally splitting stanzas across page turns to sustain a bopping, jazzy cadence. There is an innocence to the children's mischievousness, both in text and as visually portrayed, that exemplifies their sibling bond and exudes the pure joy of a family that shares a common interest. Mohammed (Song in the City) layers warm golden shades with cool blue tones of the night using gelli print collage and digital mixed-media illustrations. The artist uses jagged marks and sharp angles to effectively indicate the children's movement, and a line that moves sinuously across every page oozes musicality.
This toe-tapping read-aloud seems destined to prompt bedtime hijinks among budding musicians in the best possible way. --Kit Ballenger, youth librarian, Help Your Shelf
Shelf Talker: Young siblings are lured into a late-night musical adventure by the beckoning sound of their father's jazz band in an exuberant, toe-tapping read-aloud.