The power of music to enrich and even transform human lives was the theme of two outstanding Canadian picture books – Robert Thomas Allen’s The Violin and Stéphane Poulin’s Benjamin and the Pillow Saga. As in Allen’s fable, Alison Lohan’s Nathaniel’s Violin is a story about a mysterious old person who gives a violin to a little boy whose life is rather hard. Nathaniel’s father struggles to make their farm productive, and at first is unimpressed by the sound of the new violin: “Stop that awful noise!” he protests, and demands, “What do we need music for anyhow?” As Nathaniel moves from squawks to tunes on his violin, however, the farm animals produce more eggs and milk, the crops grow better, and the weather improves. When he moves to the city, first his mother and later his widower father take up the violin in turn, finding consolation and a better relationship with their world. In time the gift is passed on to Nathaniel’s daughter. Gently depicting the life cycle, the book amusingly reverses the usual order by having the parents learn from their son to persevere in their efforts to play the instrument, and to find new pleasure in life through music.

Marlene Watson’s bright, humorous illustrations suit the spirit of this magical, pastoral story. In a few places, however, text and pictures don’t quite work together: the mysterious old woman who gives Nathaniel the violin is described as “wizened,” yet the illustrations show her as a large figure, of generous curves. The picture does help clarify a puzzling reference in the text to her “cart,” however, by showing a peddler’s cart, and the ending of the story is given a new significance by the final illustration of Nathaniel’s little daughter playing in a great concert hall, watched from a balcony seat by the old woman.