For this month’s Music Book Review, I have read and reviewed the fabulous and funny book, Make Some Noise written by The Horne Section and illustrated by Rob Flowers. I think this has definitely been mine and my son’s favourite Music Book of the year, so we seem to have saved the best til last for 2024! This is a non-fiction book aimed at children who like music, and if they are a fan of the TV programme Taskmaster (the bleeped version of course), then all the better.
WELCOME TO THE SILLY, STRANGE AND TOTALLY HILARIOUS WORLD OF MUSIC!
Blurb on the back of the book Make Some Noise by The Horne Section
With FUNNY tales, ABSURD history and UNBELIEVABLE facts, The Horne Section (the world’s funniest band) are here to help YOU become a musical mastermind.
In this book, you’ll find answers to those all-important questions such as:
-WHY IS A CABBAGE MUSICAL?
-WHICH IS THE FARTIEST OF ALL THE INSTRUMENTS?
– HOW CAN YOU WRITE YOUR OWN CATCHY SONGS?
With special tasks throughout from band leader ALEX HORNE, you’ll be making your own music in no time!
So, what is this book about? Well, as I mentioned above it is a non-fiction book talking about all things music. Topics explored in the book include things like: What is music anyway?; A whistle stop tour of music history under the guise of getting the reader to think about what sort of music they may want to make themselves; A whole chapter devoted to “The Music Record Breakers” and much more besides.
Comedian Alex Horne leads the band The Horne Section, and as he will tell you himself in the book, for him this means that he doesn’t actually have to play a musical instrument himself. He largely leaves the discussion on the more musical stuff (what each instrument does/sounds like/ what musical styles are etc to his band members, all professional musicians.
While the book does cover a lot of information about music, it does not take itself very seriously (as you might expect from a book written by a comedian). The book contains lots of suggestions of music to listen to, and is peppered with comedy song lyrics the band has written. I really like the use of Musical Tasks at the end of each chapter – Alex Horne does write the tasks for the Taskmaster TV Series, something my son and I have very much enjoyed watching together. Tasks include things like singing a well-known song using only a single note all the way through, with the most interesting song being the winner. If you don’t know the TV programme Taskmaster, it is a programme where Alex Horne sets very silly, arguably pointless, tasks for a group of 5 comedians to do and points are allocated for their performance of these tasks by The Taskmaster. It is very funny, but if you are watching with your children do make sure you are watching the specifically bleeped version as there is quite strong language throughout. It is a programme for adults, but I have been watching it with my son for about a year now and he thoroughly enjoys it!
At the end of each chapter, there is a page telling you the Musical Lies that The Horne Section slipped into the text. Some of them are more obvious than others. After the first chapter you will challenge yourself to find the lies before you get to the end of the book – I did not manage it most of the time I must admit!
While illustrations are probably less important for many of the target reader for this book (more about that below), they are still a really nice touch and make a huge difference to the experience of reading a book for children. Rob Flowers is a really good fit as an illustrator for this book and his illustrations are a perfect match for the text.
Who Is This Book For?
Would your child enjoy this book? Well as always, you know your child best, so everything I say here should be read with that in mind. This is obviously a book for children who have an interest in music. It is quite a long book, but it is a book that is easy to dip into and out of. It is non-fiction, so while it is a very funny book, there is no story to follow along.
Amazon recommends this book for ages 8 – 12, and I do agree with that recommendation. My son was 10 when he read it, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. Remember that this is a book written by a Comedian and his Music Comedy band, so it contains a lot of very silly jokes so I can see that a teenager would think it was far too young for them. But it also has quite a lot of factual information in it. I enjoyed the book reading it as an adult so it definitely has appeal outside of the age range 8 – 12, probably more for children older than 12 and adults rather than younger than 8 – I have not asked my 7 year old to read the book as I just don’t think she would enjoy it that much yet. She is, however, less of a non-fiction fan than my son.
Would I recommend this book?
In short, yes. Definitely. This was my favourite book of 2024, and judging by my 10 year old son’s reaction to it and how quickly he read the book, it was his favourite Music Book of the year as well. He reads a lot before bed at night, and while I was sat downstairs I could hear him giggling away reading this book. It was really lovely to hear. I also found myself giggling away when reading the book. As I have said on previous reviews – non-fiction music books, and especially books that have quite a bit of music history in them can be very dry and dull, so it is really refreshing to read a book on this subject that is fun and genuinely funny.
Where Can I Buy This Book?
I bought the book at a specialist music shop in Leamington Spa, Presto Music. But I have seen it available for sale in various book retailers including Waterstones and on Amazon. I paid £14.99 for the book and at the time of writing the book was available from Amazon priced at £12.49, though you should always bear in mind that the prices in Amazon fluctuate with demand. I do think that this book is better value for money than many other music books for children. It is quite a long book at over 280 pages long, and do bear in mind that this is a hardback book – hardbacks are always more expensive than paperbacks. If and when it comes out in paperback then I would expect it to be cheaper. However, I was happy to pay what I did as both I and my son enjoyed it so much.
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