JUMP UP!

Infectious, joyous and zany are a few words that come to mind to describe Zanes and his music. His latest offering is no different. Inspired by both his concert experience and by a friend’s tale of a Trinidadian dance party, there’s no doubt that the title track will have listeners jumping up to dance: “Jump up, day is breaking / jump up, let’s get shaking / I know you’re lying down / jump up and we’ll dance around.” Saaf’s illustrations celebrate music and the joy it brings to life. He perfectly embodies the lyrics. Readers follow a young girl as she wakes up excited at the prospect of a “Concert today.” She rounds up the neighborhood people and anthropomorphized objects and animals, many with instruments of their own, and they play, laugh and sing their way to the stage. Each right-hand page unfolds in the center to show the action—the stage curtain opens onto the concert. In the back, each of the five tracks on the accompanying CD has its own page with music, lyrics and a bit of the history of the song. There is little need for the cardboard sleeve pasted to the inside cover; the CD will not reside there long. (Picture book. 3-7)