Ayla Rose, 16 months, reading the mini book of Small Homes yesterday at the Mother Earth News Faire. She kept turning pages, and then followed me over to the stage where I was about to do a presentation on the book. (She even had the book right side up, i.e., not upside down.)

Article in New York Times article on Joey May 13, 2015 by Nate Chinen: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/13/arts/music/joey-alexander-an-11-year-old-jazz-sensation-who-hardly-clears-the-pianos-sightlines.html

(I’m not sure if you can access all NYT articles without being a subscriber.)

“…Joey began playing piano at 6, picking out a Thelonious Monk tune by ear, which led Mr. Sila, an amateur pianist, to teach him some fundamentals. Beyond that, Joey recalled, ‘I heard records, and also YouTube, of course.’

He played at jam sessions in Bali and then in Jakarta, when his family moved there. At 8, he played for the pianist Herbie Hancock, who was in Jakarta as a Unesco good-will ambassador. (‘You told me that you believed in me,’ Joey recalled last fall, addressing Mr. Hancock at a gala for the Jazz Foundation of America, ‘and that was the day I decided to dedicate my childhood to jazz.’) He was 9 when he entered the first Master-Jam Fest, an all-ages jazz competition in Ukraine. He won its grand prize.

Soon one of his YouTube videos caught the notice of Mr. Marsalis, artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, who invited him to appear at the organization’s 2014 gala. Joey played a solo version of the Monk ballad ‘Round Midnight’ as the finale, earning a standing ovation, glowing reviews and some influential supporters.…”

“My daughter absolutely loves the little version of the tiny homes book!…”

– Lydia Doleman, Colorado

Jeez, after some crude Photoshop work, it looks like a Rembrandt!

This (as well as our Wonderful Houses Around the World) is a great building book for children. This one is out of print, but obtainable used. Lovely drawings by Stefen Bernath. Igloos, longhouses, tipis. yurts, desert tents, stone houses, earth lodges and more.