"Keep moving, she told herself. This is the hardest part. Suddenly thinking of her friends and the adventures they each were embarking on today, Katherine wondered briefly how Naomi, Bridget, and Maren were doing, as she willed herself to keep going, following the crowd. But fate had other plans, directing her feet to stumble against the door jamb and tumbling her full-on into the group of kids directly to her right. This was not how she had imagined today going. It was only 8:15."
Katherine's musical adventures at the prestigious Valley View School for the Performing Arts are off to a bumpy start. But she soon finds her place, her people, and her peace. Until a new-old challenge arises and she begins to question everything. Spiraling into darkness, her art guides her back to clarity as she takes stock of the people and events around her. One critical question forms in Katherine's mind and, as she pushes through her fear to find the answer, she soon finds that she herself holds the key. And that changes everything.
As she moves through successful and less-than-successful ventures, Katherine soon learns that some conversations are worth having - that few trials are uniquely hers.
Ryan, Charlene A.: - Charlene A. Ryan is a musician, painter, writer, and mom. She has spent most of her life behind an instrument and in front of an audience of one kind or another. A music education professor who specializes in the elementary and early childhood levels, Dr. Ryan is an Associate Professor at Toronto Metropolitan University. She has been in higher education for more than 20 years, with previous positions at the Berklee College of Music and McGill University. Dr. Ryan's research focuses on the experience and development of music performance anxiety, with a focus on children and adolescents. With a background in performance and pedagogy, she has a keen interest in the experiences of developing musicians and has focused many of her research studies on music students, parents, and teachers. Her work can be found in journals such as Psychology of Music, International Journal of Music Education, Medical Problems of Performing Artists, Journal of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Stress Management, Musicae Scientiae, and Music and Science. Dr. Ryan is also a visual artist specializing in oil painting. With many of her works focusing on musical themes and instruments, her music and art similarly come together in her author-illustrated music-focused books for young musicians, including the picture books, Hannabelle's Butterflies and The Milk Crate Club, and chapter books, Katherine Lost and Katherine's Question. Her collection of pedagogical picture books, The Sound Books, designed for interactive exploration of the elements of music, have become a staple in music classrooms. The collection includes Up and Down Sounds, Big and Small Sounds, Sections of Sound, Layers of Sound, Moving Sound, and Grouping Sound, along with the six-book compilation, Playing with Sound, designed for educators and collegiate students. Both Playing with Sound and her program-building book, Building Strong Music Programs: A Handbook for Preservice and Novice Music Teachers (recognized as an Outstanding Academic Title by the Association of College and Research Libraries), are used widely in music teacher education programs. Charlene is the proud mom of four amazing children who inspire her daily in all her creative endeavors and life adventures.Additional books in the Sound Books, Milk Crate Club, and Katherine Keyes series' are forthcoming.
