by Melissa Stouffer | Jul 21, 2026 | AAPI, All, Literature, Music Games, Music History
I love seeing books that are about lesser known musical instruments, and I love seeing books about lesser represented cultures! When I saw a book about a CHamoru girl (Mariana islands), playing an instrument from her culture, I had to snag it right away. This is is...
by Melissa Stouffer | May 5, 2026 | All, Music History, Musical Cultures
Listening activities are underrated. I said what I said. They are a wonderful way to engage students, highlight a variety of cultures, and introduce the wide world of instruments. Heritage months tend to bring out our desire to share different cultures (which we...
by Melissa Stouffer | Apr 28, 2026 | AAPI, All, Literature, Music History, Musical Cultures
May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been doing a book a day for AAPI Heritage Month for a few years. Here all of the books now here so you can reference them easily throughout the year...
by Melissa Stouffer | Mar 3, 2026 | All, Music History, Special Topics
What up doe? I don’t live in the D, but I consider myself a Detroiter. (And I do know there are levels to being a Detroiter). My parents moved from an upstairs apartment in Detroit to a more traditional apartment when my mom was pregnant with me. I was raised to...
by Melissa Stouffer | Jan 20, 2026 | All, Literature, Music History, Musical Cultures
I’m a huge lover jazz and jazz adjacent genres. That’s the best way I know to put it. Swing music was my THING in middle school and when the little big band revival happened in the 90s because of that Gap commercial I was in heaven. And if you are...
by Melissa Stouffer | Nov 11, 2025 | All, Dance/Movement, Literature, Music History, Musical Cultures
November is Native American Heritage Month. As I’ve said before, I’m very much a person who makes sure that I cover different cultural groups all year and not just in ‘the’ month that is set aside. But I still think it’s important to cover them in that month. So here...
