Illustrated by Susanna Chapman (Candlewick, March 5, 2024)
Viola Smith fell in love with the drums as a little girl, performing in the family jazz band with her older sisters. She became a pioneering female instrumentalist, famous as “The Fastest Girl Drummer in the World!” Viola boldly championed her fellow women players in the 1930s and ’40s, opening doors in the music industry.
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Starred review: Robbins’s biography skillfully focuses on the pivotal moments in Viola Smith’s career: from her childhood in small-town Wisconsin to the formation of her own band, the Coquettes, to her classical timpani training. Chapman’s upbeat illustrations create movement, sound, and emotion constantly swirling around “the fastest girl drummer in the world.” With a decidedly mid-century feel, the art reverberates with Smith’s active enthusiasm, with ripples from cymbals, starbursts from the bass drum, and twirling lines that trace the paths of her perpetually in-motion mallets. Robbins and Chapman collectively convey the vivacity and joy of this exceptional musician, and back matter further describes Smith’s advocacy for women in music.
— The Horn Book
Starred review: Pulsing with energy, this lively book shines a much-deserved spotlight on an artist who became renowned playing an instrument most commonly associated with men. Appropriately, onomatopoeic words representing the sounds of drum crashes cavort playfully throughout the eye-popping watercolor, gouache, cut-paper, and digital illustrations. Bang the drums—loudly—for this arresting account of a gifted virtuoso.
— Kirkus Reviews
This upbeat account of exuberant and innovative drummer Viola Smith is a lively newcomer to journalist and award-winning picture-book author Robbins’ noteworthy collection of biographies of women pursuing big dreams with passion and persistence. From her early years touring the Midwest in a family orchestra of eight sisters, Viola’s inventiveness and zeal propelled her to the pinnacle of artistry and acclaim as a twentieth-century percussionist. Smith’s long life of curiosity and collaboration as a performer was punctuated by her persuasive WWII-era advocacy for women’s acceptance as authentic professional musicians. As dynamic as Viola’s drumming, Chapman’s art vibrates with bright colors in retro palettes, with inventive compositions pulsating across the page and energetic hand-drawn words to amp up the rhythm. A note from the author, himself a trumpet player, enlarges on the rise of women as professional musicians in the last century, with a helpful glossary and resources. An engaging perspective on a vibrant life that inspires a reader to find her own unique beat.
— Booklist
The subject is entertaining and the tone inviting, two major draws for a picture book biography, and the appeal is all the more helped by the energetic, cheerful art. There’s not a still scene to be found in the watercolor and gouache illustrations, with swirly ribbons of music moving through riots of color accompanied by flashing stars of beats and bangs. The final scene, a double spread with a white-haired Viola “slamming her snare and socking her cymbals” makes for a jubilant, triumphant ending.
— Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Legendary jazz musician Viola Smith gets a much-deserved spotlight in Robbins’s ringing tribute. Onomatopoeic lines describe Smith’s childhood exposure to drums as the youngest member of the Smith Sisters Orchestra, and Chapman’s retro-style multimedia artwork snaps with vibrant color that captures the volume of Smith’s music. Highlighting Smith’s collaborative instincts, this profile offers a resounding reason to “clap your hands for Viola Smith!”
— Publishers Weekly
As a biography, this captures the verve and brio of Smith’s love for her art, delivering the facts with a rat-a-tat pace that parallels the life Robbins is covering. The pages are great fun; Chapman’s expressive linework gives Smith’s face an elasticity that always lets readers know what she’s up to. It’s practically a primer on drums and their parts.
— School Library Journal
When Viola Smith joined her family’s band, she took up the loudest, largest, and most “unladylike” instrument: the drums. And when that band broke up, Viola took the show on the road herself, forming an all-female band called The Coquettes. At a time when women were discouraged (to put it mildly) from this sort of life, she played with some of the best and biggest musicians of the time, earning the respect of her musical peers and listeners. Smith played fast and furious until her death at age 107, paving the way for women to rock the drums, and any instrument they want, ever since.
— Amazon Editors’ Picks