Scat!

Unpaginated. The brief and beautifully illustrated SCAT!, by Arnold Dobrin, introduces notions of family dis-harmony, religion, and death. Dobrin deals with these difficult concepts in an age-appropriate manner, without over-simplifying them, or transgressing their solemnity. The story follows Scat, an eight year old boy, torn between emulating his trumpet-playing father, and his deeply religious grandmother, who disapproves of secular music. When Scat's grandmother dies, he learns in a moment of solitude that music from the heart - even secular music - is as pure and healing as gospel music. SCAT!, with its spare blue, black, and brown illustration, maintains a beauty uncommon to flashy contemporary children's literature.