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When the Lusitania was attacked in 1915, the American composer and New Yorker Charles Ives transformed the experience of this heartbreaking news into a musical piece. It begins with a jumble of traffic noises, then the hurdy-gurdy swells into the lovely old hymn "In the Sweet Bye-and-Bye." In lyrical text and watercolors-sometimes in dramatic wordless spreads-this thoughtful picture book reveal... More

When the Lusitania was attacked in 1915, the American composer and New Yorker Charles Ives transformed the experience of this heartbreaking news into a musical piece. It begins with a jumble of traffic noises, then the hurdy-gurdy swells into the lovely old hymn "In the Sweet Bye-and-Bye." In lyrical text and watercolors-sometimes in dramatic wordless spreads-this thoughtful picture book reveals not only a wartime tragedy, but a composer's conviction that everyday music can convey profound emotion-and help heal a city. Young readers will understand that if they listen, music can be heard in the unlikeliest of places, from the busy chatter of a market to the wail of a fire engine.