🎶 🪴 Hello, friends, thanks for joining us today! 🪴 🎶
I’m so glad you’re here.
Today I’m interviewing musician, music educator, blogger, and author, Tonnye Fletcher. I’ve been following Tonyye’s blog, PBJamz, which explores picture books with musical hooks, for a while. Those of you who know me, know that music is a subject dear to my heart. So when Tonnye’s debut picture book, Music Plants Hope, illustrated by Natalia Bruno, published by Reycraft Books, was released in May of this year (2026), I knew I wanted to talk with her.
In June of 2020, when the world was shut down due to the pandemic, a Spanish artist named Eugenio Ampudia brought art, music, and nature together at the Grand Liceau Theatre in Barcelona, in a unique string quartet concert for an audience of…plants! Music Plants Hope brings this unique concert to life with beautiful, descriptive lyricism and vibrant, lush illustrations. What a wonderful way to celebrate nature, music, books, hope and humanity.
So, if we’re ready…let’s grab a cup of something yummy, get comfy…and dig in to find out more about Tonnye and Music Plants Hope!
SR: Hi Tonnye! Thanks so much for coming on the blog. I’m so excited to talk about Music Plants Hope.
The true story behind Music Plants Hope is fascinating. Could you tell us a little bit about it, and what inspired you to write a picture book about it?
TF: Hi, Stacey! Thanks for having me!
It is a fascinating story! An agent posted the video [of the concert] on Twitter and I watched it numerous times. I found it quite lovely and inspiring. She posted it as a bit of PB challenge, which I undertook.
The concert was held at The Gran Liceu Opera House in Barcelona during COVID. They couldn’t have an audience of people, so Eugenio Ampudia, a Spanish artist, suggested filling the theater with house plants as the audience. They brought in 2,292 plants- one for every seat— snake plants, palms, monstera, philodendron, lavender, fiddlehead figs and more! The UceLi string quartet played “Chrysanthemums” to the green audience. After the short concert, the plants were donated to the healthcare workers at the Barcelona Hospital. With such a great backstory, I wrote three different stories based on the event. This one eventually rose to the top.
Music Plants Hope. Words by Tonnye Fletcher. Illustrations by Natalia Bruno.
SR: The pandemic affected all of us so deeply. Do you have a story you could share about how music helped you through that difficult time?
TF: The pandemic was such a challenging time for many of us. I loved all the stories though, of music squashing the darkness and sadness- people singing across balconies, making music videos via zoom, and so much more! [SR: Same, Tonnye! Music is so powerful.]
For me personally, I lost my mom in December of 2020 (Not from Covid. She was chronically ill.). On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, I sat by Mama’s bedside, rubbing her back, praying over her, and singing hymns. She died just after midnight on December 26, so that is my last memory with her. It was hard, and sad, but I’m so thankful for those moments with her-just the two of us, and hymns we’ve sung together my whole life. They brought me peace in that devastating time, and I pray they did the same for her. [SR: Thank you so much for sharing that personal story.]
These gorgeous endpapers! Music plants hope, indeed. Music Plants Hope. Written by Tonnye Fletcher. Illustrations by Natalia Bruno.
SR: What was your research process for Music Plants Hope Were you in contact with Eugenio Ampudia and the Gran Liceu Theatre? They must have been thrilled that you were writing a picture book about their concert!
TF: As I mentioned, I watched the concert numerous times, as well as watching many different versions covered by various media personnel. I read multitudes of articles about the event, visited Eugenio’s website, the Liceu website and the website of the UceLi String Quartet.
After the book was picked up by Reycraft, but before it was published, I traveled to Europe where I interviewed Eugenio, watched a performance at the Liceu and visited Lucca, Puccini’s hometown. The conversation with Eugenio was awesome and he was very gracious, saying, “We are a team now.”
Music Plants Hope. Written by Tonnye Fletcher. Illustrated by Natalia Bruno.
SR: Your lyrical, poetic writing is beautiful and perfect for a story about music. Could you tell us a little about the writing and revision process, and did you find any specific challenges and/or joyful surprises along the way?
TF: Thanks, Stacey! My goal was to put the concert into words, utilizing what I imagine the plants’ response was. So, having lots of sensory language and movement words was very important. Interestingly, the two literary/poetic devices that showed up the most were alliteration and personification. That wasn’t purposeful, and I didn’t discover it until after publication when I was creating a conference presentation. It does make perfect sense, though, that personification would be heavily present since the plants were taking the place of a human audience.
TF: Coming up with the title was one of the biggest challenges. When Reycraft bought it, the title was GREEN MAGIC but my editor said right away that we would have to change the title since there wasn’t any “magic” in the book. I always felt the music WAS the magic, so I was thrilled when Natalia Bruno, the amazing illustrator put the magic back into the illustrations. Her artwork was the perfect complement to my words. We made a great team! My husband helped come up with the final title, Music Plants Hope. It takes a village. . . .
SR: It does indeed take a village (I say that to my critique partners, beta readers, friends & family all the time)! I also agree that music IS magical, as is this book, thanks to your words and the gorgeous illustrations by Natalia Bruno.
“My goal was to put the concert into words, utilizing what I imagine the plants’ response was. So, having lots of sensory language and movement words was very important.” —Tonnye Fletcher
Music Plants Hope. Written by Tonnye Fletcher. Illustrated by Natalia Bruno.
SR: As a music educator, what are your day-to-day activities with your students, and how does it inspire your writing work?
TF: Each day, I teach six classes: two first grade classes, two second grade, and two kindergarten classes. We sing, dance, tap out rhythms, do body percussion, play simple percussion instruments, read books with musical connections and more. I have several works in progress that are based on interactions with my students, or that were inspired by activities we have done together. Sometimes as I’m teaching, or as my students are asking questions or sharing, a phrase or concept will jump out as a great idea. I also take my PBJamz blog work back into the classroom, using many of the books I have featured and the resources I’ve shared with others.
SR: Lucky kids! Hooray and thank goodness for teachers (you)! And music! And picture books!
And now, I’d like to finish with a fun LIGHTNING ROUND:
What instrument(s) do you play? I sing and play trumpet.
Favorite piece of music and/or song? I cannot possibly choose…too many amazing songs…
A writing resource that you find extra helpful? I honestly love Pinterest— whatever topic I’m struggling with, someone has pinned some wisdom. I’ve collected quite a massive writing board with many topics.
Upcoming projects? Nothing in the pipeline; nothing else has been bought YET so I’m just writing and my agent and I are subbing. My husband and I co-wrote our first picture book which we are currently polishing and hoping to submit soon! Tough market…we just have to be tougher!
[You are tough and talented! We believe in you and your work, Tonnye!]
Last but not least, where can readers find you?
My website is www.tonnyefletcher.com The PBJamz blog is there as well as lots of info for Music Plants Hope.
I’m on FB, X, Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, and LinkedIn, most of which are linked up on my website.
My newsletter is on Substack (you can subscribe on my website).
Thanks again for the opportunity to share! I appreciate the invitation!
Ways you can support Tonnye and Music Plants Hope:
🎶 Follow her on social media.
🪴 Buy the book for yourself, a friend or family member, a teacher, or a school library.
🎶 Review the book on Goodreads, Amazon, Bookshop.org, etc.
🪴 Tell your local library about Music Plants Hope and ask them to purchase it.
THANKS AGAIN TO YOU, TONNYE, AND THANKS EVERYONE FOR READING!
If you enjoyed this chat with Tonnye about Music Plants Hope, please consider liking, commenting, or sharing this interview. It helps so much to get the word out about wonderful books!