Marley and the family band

Young Marley and her musical family have recently moved from Jamaica to Delaware, where they had plans to introduce themselves to the community with an outdoor concert--until rain calls off the gig. Marley applies her knowledge of hurricanes to the problem at hand: she and her siblings exchange bailing a leaky basement and other neighborly assistance for "a tarp, eight umbrellas, and three rain hats" to cover the stage. But when they discover another neighbor in dire need of rain gear, they gladly give it up--a good deed that, in authors Marley and Baptiste's play-by-play text, inspires the neighborhood (whose brown-skinned characters have varying skin tones) to ensure that the show goes on. And Rose's buoyant digital illustrations, in which kids in bright slickers walk amid silvery raindrops, convey a sense of unsinkable community. Ages 4--8. (Feb.)

Newly arrived in Delaware from Jamaica, Marley is determined to make new friends by performing an outdoor family concert for her neighbors. The weather, however, has other plans. Marley's parents and older sister seem ready for a rain check as a downpour drags on outside, but Marley and her two younger brothers, Axel and Zayne, won't be dissuaded. "You can't fix a problem until you look at it up close," Marley tells her mother, then the three children don rain gear and head for the park. Having experienced tropical storms back in Jamaica, Marley decides that the concert can go on if many umbrellas are hung from the overhead stage lights. "Who has that many umbrellas?" Axel asks skeptically. Marley decides they will help their neighbors with their storm problems in exchange for umbrellas. The siblings cheerfully and determinedly rescue a cat, bail out a flooded basement, and pick produce in a greenhouse. The plan works well until they meet someone who needs all the umbrellas they have collected. There is a small moment of hesitation when Marley's smile loses its sunniness, but she and her brothers head home empty-handed. The ending is both unsurprising and gratifying. The vibrant digital watercolor-and-crayon illustrations coupled with the communal focus of the text set a positive tone throughout. The joy of music is present in textual metaphors as well as visual representations of instruments and musical notes, even in the endpapers. Marley and her family are Black, while the neighbors have skin tones that range from pale to dark. A well-played serenade to the power of kindness and community. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.