The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma and His Gifts to the World (A Picture Book Biography) by James Howe and illustrated by Jack Wong might be one of my favorite new picture biographies. Read via an online reader copy, however, you’ll have to wait until early June 2025 for your chance to read it.
We hit the highlights of the life and times of this cellist. There are several facts in the text itself, along with extras as well. This lets the book grow with its readers and allows them to learn as much or as little as they want. But there is nothing little about Yo-Yo Ma. Except for his size when he first started to play. Not only did he not learn something “easy to hold” (like the violin his father and sister played) or to work on his voice like his mother, four-year-old Ma would lug around a cello, considerably smaller than an adult one, but still probably bigger than him.
Throughout the book we see how Ma questions how his life and music come together. He does not want to be defined by one thing, but all the things that make him who he is. He wants the real him. He even asks questions about music and the meaning of it. Through many years, we see how Ma grows and defines his place in things. And yet, this deeper thought process is accessible for most ages five and up.
There are lovely, simple, but not lacking, illustrations that are colorful and make things a bit romantic, while supporting the story. This is a letter from the author to the man and his fans. There are facts that the admirers will know, but they might be new to others (such as he was raised in France, played music online during the pandemic, and has even been on Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers?)