Book Review: Everything is Music

Everything is Music is a quick read with a lot to look at that will slow the reading down and encourage kids to think about the music in the sounds they hear every day.

The book, written and illustrated by Miran Park (and translated by Paige Aniyah Morris) explores a day in the music of its sounds.

“When morning comes, the sounds stretch awake,” the book opens, following a little girl on a bike in a red dress that changes int a raincoat later in the book. Color is used sparingly other than the red coat and the yellow of the music of everyday objects.

You’ll find treble clefs hidden in bushes, birds flying though the shape of a cello, and lots of other instruments and musical notes decorating the simple line drawings of city scenes.

The story highlights the music found in the laughter of children, the whistle of wind down an alley and the pattering of rain in a storm. Sounds are said to whizz and woosh, while people walking in the rain pitter-patter and birds chirp after the rain ends.

“Everything is music,” the book notes.

At the end of the book you’ll find images of different instruments shown in the story such as a French horn, guitar, trumpet, xylophone and harp.

This fun little story is likely to get kids making their own music as you read, and they’ll be excited to point out the different instruments and notes once you’ve pointed them out once.

This would be a fun book for an elementary school music teacher to have to read to kids and encourage them to listen for and collect the sounds that are happening around them all the time as a reminder that it is all music and we are a part of the sounds that are the music in the world.

About the book: 44 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Blue Dot Kids Press. Suggested retail price $19.95.

Easy Musical Instruments for Kids to Make

A Yearlong Music Curriculum for Kids

Michaelmas is one of those holidays that is religious in nature but also has a more secular meaning, especially in England.

Michaelmas is variously known as the Feast Day of saints Michael, Gabriel and Raphael or the Feast of the Archangels, and it is generally celebrated on September 29 (or November 8 in Eastern Christian calendars). In England it also marks the end of a quarter both financially and academically (if you’ve ever read a book that talks about Michaelmas term, this is what it’s talking about) and historically the end of the farming year, when accounts would be settled.

In a religious context it celebrates Michael’s defeat of Satan, which also involves slaying, or a least controlling, a dragon, but it’s also a day to mark the progression of the year into fall because it falls near the equinox.

Waldorf educational communities celebrate Michaelmas because Rudolf Steiner believed it was the second most important festival of the year after Easter. They may have a play or a field day celebrating feats of strength and overcoming fears. Season to Gather has a guide available for purchase that includes the story of St. Michael and the dragon, crafts and activities, recipes and more with a Waldorf approach.

I also found this publication from a Waldorf school that has lots of ideas for celebrating Michaelmas with groups of kids, doing things like obstacle courses, rope tugs and races. The booklet also includes songs and recipes to try.

Because they both have to do with saints and dragons, you can pull out your St. George’s Day activities for Michealmas, too, but here are a few more ideas specific to Michaelmas. I’d love to hear about your traditions if this is a holiday you celebrate.

Faith and Fabric has a cute St. Micheal softie project kids or adults can make.

Catholic Icing has a printable pack for purchase that includes stand up figures of the angels in color and black and white as well as coloring pages and the St. Michael prayer printable. She also has a printable party pack with a banner and angels you can use as cupcake toppers.

There are a lot of traditional foods that are involved in a Michaelmas celebration including bannock (a Scottish harvest bread), blackberries and goose (though many people sub chicken or Cornish game hens these days). You can also throw in angel food cake, or devil’s food cake, deviled eggs or spicy foods to celebrate overcoming the devil.

Another traditional activity at Michaelmas is hitting a pinata that is shaped either like Satan or a dragon. You can see this in action and get more details about how one family celebrates Michaelmas at Catholic All Year.

Have you read?

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