Plucking through history: the banjo's untold story

"When Malik is strangely pulled to his grandparents' attic by the sound of a distant TWANG, he is magically transported to Africa with his grandfather's old gourd banjo to witness the transformation of this timeless instrument from its earthly beginnings through its modern day adaptations. With the strum of a chord, Malik is transported through time, learning about the banjo's distorted history as he tags along on the journey through the Middle Passage, into the darkness of minstrel shows, and to a time of reclamation found in the sounds of jazz, blues, gospel, bluegrass and more. As Malik comes to understand the contributions his African ancestors made to the invention of the banjo and sharing its sound with the world, he returns to the present day to embrace this knowledge and reconnect with his grandfather through the shared experience of banjo music"--