Eugenio Ampudia’s Unique Concert for Plants

INTRODUCTION

It is my delight to introduce you to a debut picture book by my fellow North Carolina writer, Tonnye Fletcher. Music Plants Hope (Reycraft Books, 2026) is a lyrical and beautifully illustrated story about Eugenio Ampudia’s unique concert for….plants. Read on to find out more.

REVIEW

Who can forget 2020? Covid, masks, lock downs, kids going to school at home, over-crowded hospitals…the list goes on. Large gatherings were cancelled, including concerts. All over the world healthcare workers worked overtime. It was a hard time for many as family and friends fell ill and many died.

But in one corner of the world, multidisciplinary artist Eugenio Ampudia brought together Giacomo Puccini’s “I Crisantemi”; Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu opera house, and 2,292 plants- one for every seat in the house. The plants were provided by local nurseries and afterwards were donated to the Hospital of Barcelona in appreciation for the doctors, nurses, and staff who put their patients needs and health before their own. Tonnye Fletcher brings this story to life through her words. Illustrator Natalia Bruno adds a touch of whimsy with birds flying through the pages and tiny children perched on flowers–giving the book a garden-like feel.

Formally attired musicians and plants in their “green finery” are ready.

“Sad sweet melodies” lift from violins.

As bows saw back and forth on strings,

ferns fronds unfurl

and fingers of philodendron lengthen.

…..

And plants pulse, through they have no hearts.

******

Crescendos…

Decrescendos,

Goodbyes and hellos

highs and lows.

Only eight minutes long, the concert was a tribute to those who suffered great loss during the pandemic, and to those who cared for them. Through the use of muscle words such as personification, image-drive adjectives, alliteration, and vivid verbs, Music Plants Hope will touch children who are drawn to plants and music.

With lush illustrations and poetic prose, this book will find a place in home and school libraries as well as in music and science classrooms.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

CAROL: Congratulations, Tonnye, on receiving a starred review from School Library Journal! That’s a fantastic accomplishment. Can you tell my readers how you ended up writing this book?

TONNYE: Thank you. I appreciate you highlighting Music Plants Hope! I found the idea for this story from a Twitter pitch from an agent who posted the link to the concert, saying that she would be interested in a picture book based somehow on this idea. After watching the video numerous times and reading many articles about the concert, it really resonated with me. As a music teacher, it was fascinating to see music performed for such a unique audience.  As a science teacher, what an opportunity to invite kids in to create their own STEAM experiment, or just get excited about science and how it intersects with art.  From a human perspective, music has helped me through some of my darkest days, and I love the idea of music being celebrated as a source of hope. Pairing music with plants doubles the healing power in my mind, because plants have such healing properties of their own. I am passionate about this story, because I believe every layer of it to the core of my being.

A GIVEAWAY and A NOTE

To enter the giveaway, please leave a comment by June 3. If you are an educator or librarian, let me know and I will enter your name twice. If you teach music or science you get three chances!

I couldn’t get the title out of my head. If you’ve ever seen the book, Eats, Shoots and Leaves, then you know how important commas are to the meaning of a sentence. I think Tonnye’s book has a subtle double meaning if you insert commas. Music, Plants, Hope. What do you think?