The Music Inside Us: Yo-Yo Ma & His Gifts to the World
by James Howe; illus. by Jack Wong
Primary    Abrams    48 pp.
6/25    9781419755217    $19.99
e-book ed.  9781647003432    $17.09

Readers may not know that Yo-Yo Ma (b. 1955), one of the most recognized cellists of our time and a trailblazer who delights in crossing cultural and musical boundaries, has struggled to find purpose in music. He could play an entire Bach cello suite from memory at age four and performed for President Kennedy when he was seven. But he also searched for meaning in music beyond technical precision, and this thoughtful picture-book biography focuses on that search. Wong’s illustrations, rendered with “acrylic, watercolor, crayon, and digital editing,” capture Ma’s yearning with humor and empathy. In one scene, a teenage Ma reads comics on his bed with his cello propped up beside him. Big questions about the meaning of life appear in comic-style speech bubbles: are they spoken by Ma or by the cello? (A virtuoso musician’s mystery!) This levity contrasts with an earlier scene of children playing baseball in the street while Ma and his sister remain inside, conveying just how much was sacrificed for rigorous practicing schedules. A tender depiction of an accomplished yet humble musician’s quest to play with emotion and heart and to move within and beyond the world of classical music. Resources, a selected bibliography, and author and illustrator notes are appended.

From the July/August 2025 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.