SAXOPHONE SAM AND HIS SNAZZY JAZZ BAND

Imagination comes to life on a rainy day when voices from an old, presumably jazz-era radio in the attic call to two children who have been driven to stamp-collecting and dressing up the cat by a rainstorm outside. The cajoling, rhyming voices lead the children all through the house, describing their music and providing hints about where to look. The boy and girl look in the kitchen, the bathroom, a bedroom, and up the stairs, until at last they peek into the wooden radio in the dusty attic and spy a veritable jazz festival going on inside. The brightly colored illustrations reflect how close the children are getting, as the musicians take up a progressively increasing amount of the pages, and white swirls of “music” appear, always in just the next room. Despite this clever layout and cheerful colors that attempt to dispel gloom caused by the bad weather outside, the flat, busy spreads, particularly the stylized people, aren’t particularly attractive. The energy of the jazz musicians and dancers who’ve come to life in the radio is contagious, however, and the bouncy rhyme may help to perk up a dull day. (Picture book. 4-8)