In her debut picture book, Vancouver author-illustrator Eliyana Biklou has taken on the tricky (though worthwhile) task of helping children learn to read music. Understanding how the black dots and lines on the page represent sounds and songs can lead to a lifetime of pleasure, but it’s a skill that not many children learn in school these days.

Biklou gives each of the seven notes of the scale a face, a name, and an occupation beginning with the same letter. Thus, D is Dr. Donna, F is Fireman Freddy, etc. Each note/character is described in a short rhyme. The reader is asked to hum the note and put a sticker with the appropriate face on the keyboard at the bottom of the page.

So far so good, though obviously most children are going to need help finding the appropriate note. Things become murky, however, when the concept of “key” is introduced: the notes are locked out of Treble Towers, and need a key to go in and make music. It isn’t clear if “key” refers to one on a keyboard, or the key of a piece of music. It’s even less clear why the keys are found in Lady Treble’s hair. If this part of the book were clearer, or even omitted, it would have been much easier to enjoy Biklou’s lesson in basic music theory, as well as the simple songs included at the end.