You ever read a book that was not Best Book Ever, but there was something about it that really hit you, that really made you feel, you really enjoyed, you got into, that gave you something? Beatrice and the Nightingale by Patricia Newman and Isabelle Follath was that book for me.
I read it via an online reader copy, it will come out in mid February 2026 and I might get a finished copy. The idea is simple: a young girl from a musical family becomes fascinated with music and the cello. Flash forward to an adult (after playing with her sisters, doing concerts, studying under masters) she plays in her garden to the nightingale song accompanying her. It is professionally recorded and would make history. This story, while lovely, is not so much what hit me. It was the overall picture. Though music stories and women musicians are not new it was how things were presented that was. It was how it sounded musical to my reading eyes. The writing is poetic and it flows, but also it is strong and gives you the story without extra fluff for the most part.
Then the illustrations add that something extra to support the text. They are both soft but strong in colors and details. While realistic, they did not feel as if there was a “realism” to them as they continued with the whimsy of things. And yet, nothing is overly sugary or too sweet. It is sweet, maybe a bit idealistic at times, but it just works. Overall, this is an all aged book, however, the younger the listener the more likely they might not sit for this slightly longer and less action filled book.