Reading About the Power of Music

Abstract

In this article, I review two books that address the power of music for the individual and group. Both books address the benefits of making, learning, and listening to music during times of conflict. The first brief review is David McPhail’s picture book Mole Music. The second is Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land, Sandy Tolan’s nonfiction account of how music functions in the lives of those who live in the Middle East. The fictional picture book highlights the ideal of music directly prompting peace, while Tolan’s story of Ramzi Aburedwan’s transformation from a Palestinian boy throwing stones at Israeli soldiers to musician and activist demonstrates the complexity of a concerted and purposeful effort to promote peace through music. Each book provides an opportunity to engage students at the secondary level in discussions of how music functions in their lives and others.