The Piano

The Piano

by William Miller

illustrations by Susan Keeter

Lee & Low Books, Inc., April 2000

$15.95, ISBN 1-88000-098-9, Ages 4-8

Set in the deep South of the early 1900s, The Piano is a warm story of an African American girl named Tia. Tia loves music, and is free to roam the summer streets while her mother and brother work at the cotton mill. Music is an escape from everything for Tia. She often forgets where she is when listening to it. Whenever she hears a blues guitar or even a child singing, she feels good inside.

One day Tia became hungry for new sounds and crossed the railroad tracks for the first time in search of different music. As …