With thanks to the author, Matador publishers, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my hones and unbiased review.

This is a nice book telling the story of a little boy called Mus-Iggle who loves listening to music and is often emotionally moved by it. He would like to be musical by playing an instrument like his dad or by being a great singer like his mum, but despite his best efforts is unable to do either. Instead, he persists and finds that he has a close relationship with the musical notes themselves, and a talent for composing music that artists like his mum and dad will be able to play and sing. The illustrations are vibrant and engaging, and complement the story really well.

A few slight negatives for me. While musical terms like “prestissimo” and “adagio” were explained in the context of the story, I think non-musical readers of any age would benefit from an explanation, either within the story of in an appendix, of what the different types of notes mentioned actually mean. Not vital to follow the story by any means, but I think it would be a nice addition. I also felt that the story ended a little abruptly, and on a point about financially profiting which didn’t sit well with me.

Overall though I felt that the message in this book was a positive one that young readers will understand, in that they do not have to follow others and can instead use their talents to forge their own paths in life to achieve their goals and be happy.

This is an interesting story using a play on words of Musical to Mus-Iggle. It tells the story of a boy who really wants to be a musician but really struggles with instruments. He hears his mom singing and wishes he could create music too. He makes friends with some music notes and learns that he can share his love of music through composing. I like the illustrations, they are interesting and colourful. I also love that the writing is on solid backgrounds and in a large, accessible font, this will make it easier for readers. That being said, there is a lot of music related vocabulary and there is no glossary or explanation of what the words mean. I would consider myself fairly musical but words like semibreve and crotchet are not words I am familiar with and I would assume most children wouldn't be either. I think that it is great that the author is exposing children to new terminology and vocabulary, but I think that young readers need a lot of support when tackling complex vocabulary and this book doesn't have enough support for those young readers. Even using terminology like quarter note or staff which are more familiar to younger kids might have been a better choice, but I know that if I were reading this book to my grade 3 students who have a fabulous music teacher, they wouldn't understand what most of it meant, which is super unfortunate! Definitely a good book and great for musician parents or music teachers who would like to share their knowledge with children! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

I will be honest- this had a lot of potential. It was a cute idea and the illustrations were beautifully done, but unless you are WELL VERSED (I mean, like A PROTEGE in music), most of the terms will be over your head- let alone over a child's.

The lesson is really important, and it's about finding your own way and what YOU like to do and what YOU are good at- it doesn't have to be what everyone else is or does (even your parents). Keep trying new things to explore your own talents, you never know what you could excel at if you don't try.

I think that this needs to be brought down to a more easy to understand level for the age group it's marketed for. There were so many music terms that I, at 32 years old have never even heard of and even context clues don't help fully.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, author & illustrator for the DRC!

A big thank you to NetGalley and Matador Publishing for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's book. I found this to be a bit tongue-in-cheek, will kids get it? Mus-Iggle has a dad who is a musician and a mom who is a singer-but he can't do either...but music is in his blood and he can compose. Nice story and graphics. 3.5 stars

~A tale with a VALUABLE lesson~

I read this enlightening story with my 8-year-old, and when we finished, he exclaimed… that was great! The illustrations were colorful and fun. My son said “I learned so much from this book. I learned that everyone could take a different path in life. I learned that I can do what makes me happy”. What a priceless lesson to learn at 8 year old. I feel like this is where my son would day “mic drop!”. What more can you say, what a terrific book.


Grateful to have received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley & Matador

Mus-Iggle is a cute story about a boy who tries to be like his parents in making music, but ends up finding his own way to make music. The text was big and easy to read, the illustrations were fun. This would be a great book for any child learning to play an instrument or read music. The ending felt a little abrupt.