The Band in Our Basement

After their dance moves result in a “CRASH,” two siblings worry they’ll be caught staying up late to listen to Daddy’s band practice (“The music stops.../ Our stomachs drop”). But when no one comes to scold them, they sneak down to the basement for a closer listen. Proceeding with a “careful, careful, can’t be caught,” the pair is delighted when the band invites them to “Come join this thing!” Internal rhyme and repetition pulse through Baptist’s buoyant verse, whose tone emphasizes the excitement of a special moment after lights-out. In Mohammed’s Gelli print collage and digital illustrations, bold yellow, orange, and pink swaths burst through the cool blues of the children’s bedroom and the music, enlivening this jazzy jam session of a book. Characters are depicted with varied brown skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)