I Like The Music

I recently rediscovered one of my favorite old picture books, called I Like The Music. It's a story about a girl in New York City who loves hearing music played in the streets, but not in stuffy concert halls. In the end, her grandma insists on taking her to yet another symphony, but this time it's in Central Park, at night. The girl suddenly changes her opinion - maybe orchestras aren't that bad after all. The story is written in a really fun, rhythmic way, and is almost a song when you read it out loud. Try reading this passage for yourself:
I like the beat
Of my feet
When my shoes hit the street
And I rapa-tapa-tapa
On the hot concrete.
No parade,
Just the maid
With her Dixieland mop,
Soppin' with the boppin'
All around the bus stop.
I remember loving hearing this book read aloud to me as a kid. For all of you who still love reading picture books, I definitely recommend it.
One connection I noticed between this story and Siddhartha is that both main characters try out new things that they previously wouldn't even think of. For the girl in I Like The Music, her new experience is the symphony in the park, which shows her a better side of orchestral music and even gets her to change her mind about it. For Siddhartha, he experiences an entirely new lifestyle, one of wealth and luxury. He previously looked down upon this, but had never known it for himself. When he finally lives it, his opinion is confirmed, and it almost drives him to suicide. Although Siddhartha doesn't change his mind, unlike the girl, they both gather new life experiences that give them firsthand wisdom to use in the future.

Komaiko, Leah. I Like The Music. U.S.A.: Harper Trophy, 1987.

(I couldn't find the city in which it was published, but it did say USA, so I hope that's okay. Also, I tried to do the double indent for the quotation, but the 10 spaces I put it didn't show up in the post.)