Last year the ILWC Journal interviewed two music educators a contributing author of the Silver Burdett
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Last year the ILWC Journal interviewed two music educators: a contributing author of the Silver Burdett Ginn music series and a researcher for the Macmillan music series. (ILWC Journal, October 1993, pp.24-25) Each was asked to comment about future product development plans to incorporate the music of women composers throughout school music textbooks. Now, a year later, both companies have released new series for elementary school and one has a brand new high school text. Marketing campaigns are currently underway to promote sales, and the books are making their way to music classrooms throughout the United States. Generally speaking, there are more women musicians in these latest series, including performers, conductors, composers, and pop musicians, but the number and types of inclusions are disappointing.
Silver Burdett's series, The Music Connection (publishing date 1995), is available for Grades K-8. Books one through eight were available at the time of this review. Over fifty educators serve as editors, authors, or readers for this series, including such leaders as Patricia Shehan Campbell, Mary Hoffman, Marvelene Moore, and Catherine Nadon-Gabrion. In an attempt to get away from stereotypical pictures of children or music teachers (music books have received criticism in the past from the "PC police" addressing issues of gender and race) the covers show excerpts of tunes...