This is the first signed copy giveaway we’ve ever done at OPB! To learn a bit more about the picture book you might win, enjoy the mini-​interviews below with both the author and illustrator of Clarinet & Trumpet.

Also, feel free to read about the book at Goodreads or via its starred review at School Library Journal!

(The details for how to get your name in the running for a free copy will be at the very bottom!)

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Questions for author Melanie Ellsworth

RVC: What’s something about Trumpet we wouldn’t guess from just reading the story?

ME: Trumpet has a unicorn collection at home–stickers, figurines, posters, t‑shirts, you name it! Trumpet believes in things that others dismiss.

RVC: What music puns didn’t quite make the final cut? (As we all know, music puns can lead to treble!)

ME: So many! Face the music, music to my ears, ring a bell, off key, off beat, jump on the bandwagon, composed (I thought of starting with, “Clarinet was quite composed,” but ended up going with, “Sure, Trumpet was rather brass, and Clarinet a bit long-winded.”)

RVC: What’s your own musical background?

ME: I started piano lessons when I was seven years old and kept at it until 10^th grade, and I started playing the clarinet in 4^th grade and continued through college. What I loved about clarinet was that I could play it with others–starting with band in elementary school and adding orchestra, pit band, and Northeast district bands in high school. I picked up the saxophone for a bit in high school, hoping to join the jazz band but never quite got there!

These days, I dream of playing the bagpipes…

RVC: Your favorite image from the book?

ME: That’s a tough question because John’s work is amazing. It might be the scene where Trumpet is desperately trying to get Clarinet’s attention–I love the various expressions and gestures as Trumpet works through his entire repertoire of friendship strategies. But that’s tied with the stage scene where Oboe lassos Trombone with her cleaning rag–the movement of the characters and the deep purple of the curtains just grab me.

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Questions for illustrator John Herzog

RVC: Which instrument-​character was the most challenging to illustrate?

JH: All of them had their challenges, but Clarinet was surprisingly hard to get right. Her design changed significantly over the course of working on the book.

RVC: What’s something fun that only an eagle-​eyed reader might notice?

JH: There’s a little J+B in a heart on the chalkboard in the music room. J and B are my and my wife’s initials.

RVC: What’s your own musical background?

JH: My dad and my brother are musical–they both play piano. I greatly appreciate music, but I myself am not very musical.

RVC: Your favorite line from the story?

JH: “The woodwinds tweeted, tooted, and trilled. The brass blew, blasted, and blared.” Love the alliteration there.

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“How Do I Get a Chance at a Freebie Signed Copy?

Are you read to take your chance at winning a free signed copy of Clarinet & Trumpet? There are THREE ways to do this–each will earn you a single entry toward the signed copy drawing.

1. Leave a comment right here on this blog post (the LEAVE A COMMENT button is at the top of the post) that answers the question: “What’s the best concert band instrument?”
2. Leave a comment on FB that answers the question: “What’s your favorite song that includes a trumpet?” https://www.facebook.com/OnlyPictureBooks
3. Like and retweet the giveaway post on Twitter. https://twitter.com/OPBblog

(It’s three entries max, and only one per source, so hit up all three options if you want to increase your chances at winning!)

**The drawing will be 11:59pm on Wednesday, May 19.**