Grandpa Jack is a bit shy when he first arrives in Heaven, which, appropriately for a jazz fan like himself, takes the form of a Cotton Club peopled with jazz legends whose music Grandpa loved so much in life. As Grandpa makes his way inside, he begins to tap his feet and forget his shyness; when Count Basie strikes up the band, Grandpa joins in on the spoons, finally earning his wings among the jazz greats. Textured collage illustrations incorporating visible brush strokes have a sculptured look; notable jazz figures Mingus, Miles, Ellington, Monk, Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Count Basie, Art Blakey, and John Coltrane, all with angels’ wings, are portrayed playing and singing on cloud stages against a backdrop of a deep blue, starry sky. The snappy text gives a brief sense of each musician’s specialty and in some cases even evokes the musicians’ sound: “It don’t mean a thing, If it ain’t got that swing” are Duke’s own lyrics, verbatim, and the following line—“That’s what Duke says. And that’s what Duke plays”—recalls rhythms in his composition “Duke’s Place.” The mention of musical terms essential to the understanding of jazz, like improvisation and syncopation, rounds out this outstandingly complete introduction to the jazz canon that will give young readers a genuine feel for the music and spirit of jazz. Short biographies of each of the musicians are included at the end. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2002
ISBN: 0-375-81571-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2002
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
Give this child’s-eye view of a day at the beach with an attentive father high marks for coziness: “When your ball blows across the sand and into the ocean and starts to drift away, your daddy could say, Didn’t I tell you not to play too close to the waves? But he doesn’t. He wades out into the cold water. And he brings your ball back to the beach and plays roll and catch with you.” Alley depicts a moppet and her relaxed-looking dad (to all appearances a single parent) in informally drawn beach and domestic settings: playing together, snuggling up on the sofa and finally hugging each other goodnight. The third-person voice is a bit distancing, but it makes the togetherness less treacly, and Dad’s mix of love and competence is less insulting, to parents and children both, than Douglas Wood’s What Dads Can’t Do (2000), illus by Doug Cushman. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: May 23, 2005
ISBN: 0-618-00361-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2005
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