There’s a Rock Concert in My Bedroom

One-third of the Jonas Brothers teams up with his wife in this authorial picture book debut. Emma is the star of her family’s dance parties—“She loves the BOOM BOOM BOOM of a good bass beat.” Thanks to daily lessons from her father, she’s a budding guitarist as well, excited to make her debut at the school talent show. A case of the jitters, a misplaced lucky charm, and a disastrous rehearsal leave Emma doubting herself, but with an infusion of dance party vibes from the white-presenting family, she overcomes performance fears and rocks out. If the text models problem-solving, instead of empathy, regarding the child’s very real anxiety, the cheery, conversational text is matched by Dawson’s sunny-hued, animation-style art, which centers schoolmates of varying skin tones. It’s the picture book equivalent of a pop-rock bop. Ages 4–8. (Mar.)