Kids' books with jazz themes

[ejp626]

I'm sure there are a bunch, but I ran across this the other day -- Looking for Bird in the Big City by Robert Burleigh.

It is a fictionalized tale of Miles Davis coming to New York to try to play with Bird. I'm a bit amused at how Rollins' bridge playing is appropriated.

Anyway, the illustrations are pretty great, full of images of what an ideal jazz club would have looked like back in the day (and the streets are a lot cleaner than the real New York of the late '40s). It's designed for very little children - 4 to 8 I suppose.

Edited September 27, 2008 by ejp626

[robviti]

Dizzy

Written by Jonah Winter. Illustrated by Sean Qualls

Dizzy Gillespie was a real cool cat who must have been born with a horn in his hands. The trumpet was his ticket on a train to better days, and he left his hard life in a small town for New York, and the hottest band around. But did Dizzy stand straight and play right? NO! He hit high notes, low notes never-been-heard notes, acted silly, played around puffed his cheeks out like a clown . . . and created a whole new kind of music: BEBOP. This is a story about a boy who breaks all the rules and ends up head of the class top of the heap, the - ska-diddley dee bop! - Prince of Jazz.

[robviti]

Charlie Parker Played Bebop

Written and illustrated by Chris Raschka

From Publishers Weekly:

Regardless of whether they've heard of jazz or Charlie Parker, young readers will bop to the pulsating beat of this sassy picture book. In a daring attempt to capture the raw energy of Parker's music (and in language recalling the verbal theatrics of Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault), Raschka combines a text that's as lean as a poem and as mean as a blues refrain (``Charlie Parker played be bop. / Charlie Parker played no trombone. / The music sounded like be bop. / Barbecue that last leg bone'') with vigorously skewed illustrations gleaming with sly wit. Even the typeface joins in the fun, as italics and boldface strut and swing across the pages. Those in the know will enjoy the inside jokes (the pages, for example, are decorated with birds, after Parker's nickname); young and old alike will find this a read-aloud that's hard to resist. And that's no jive. Ages 3-6.

[robviti]

John Coltrane's Giant Steps

Remixed by Chris Raschka

Publishers Weekly

This innovative visual deconstruction of one of jazz saxophonist Coltrane's most beloved compositions may be Raschka's (Mysterious Thelonious) most ambitious picture book yet. After a playful introduction ("Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book"), the unseen narratorconductor introduces the performers a box, a snowflake, some raindrops and a kitten a tongue-in-cheek nod to Coltrane's version of "My Favorite Things"). The book does not require previous awareness of the jazz great's work, however. Each performer (representing percussion, bass, piano and sax) appears in a different color and shape (Raschka riffs on primary red, yellow and blue, and the basic square, triangle and circle). The performance begins, only to be interrupted when the kitten ("the melody on top of everything") takes steps a little too large ("People, people! What happened?"). Some coaching finally produces what Coltrane called "sheets of sound." Raschka's transparent watercolors layer colors and shapes the way a musician would notes and harmonies. Stunningly simple, the concept provides a compelling introduction to Coltrane's genius. Those who possess a little musical knowledge will delight in such arch references as "remixed by Chris Raschka" on the title page and the conductor's hilarious critique ("First of all, raindrops, you were rushing on page 19"). Even the jacket repeats the book's central conceit: a clear plastic wrap featuring the kitten, painted in thick black outline, overlays the other elements. A must for jazz enthusiasts and, for first-timers, a clever introduction to this wildly creative musical genre. Ages 4-7.

[robviti]

Mysterious Thelonious

Written and illustrated by Chris Raschka

Publishers Weekly

Raschka (Charlie Parker Played Be Bop), one of the most original illustrators at work today, is at it again, pushing the limits of his chosen craft. Here, bound in a delightful hand-sized volume, his paean to jazz great Thelonious Monk doubles as a clever visual pun. By matching the notes of the chromatic scale (do, di, re, me, mi...) to the 12 color values of the color wheel, and then placing each word of text within a color-coded square, readers can not only read it, but literally play it like a musical score. "Misterioso," the Monk composition represented here, begins simply (i.e., lots of white space visually), but just as the musical piece grows more complex, so does the visual picture as pigment washes are added to represent harmonies and improvisations, and the pages fairly roil with color. Although young ones may find the book's rich double entendre difficult to grasp, they'll certainly enjoy the musician himself, cavorting across the pages decked out in hip blue shades and a checked cap. And young-at-heart Monk fans will feel Raschka's passion for his subject as he renders the pianist incomplete without his piano (their shapes and colors answer one another across the double-page spreads in melon greens or cool reds). Words swoop and dive across the pages ("He played the music of freedom/ Jazz is the music of freedom") yet, like the musical form itself, return to the simple theme with which the book began: "This is a story about his music." In creating this homage to one great artist, Raschka has honored all the innovative artists who inspire othersand once again proves he belongs among them. All ages.

[robviti]

and here's some for very small bebopper:

[ejp626]

The ones by Raschka look pretty interesting. I'll see if the library has them.

It is fun reading books with jazz-inflections to my kids.

[bakeostrin]

"Journey into Jazz" by Nat Hentoff illustrated by David Stone Martin and "The First Book of Jazz" by Langston Hughes are two earlier children's books on jazz.

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Marsalis Jazz ABZ

That "Mysterious Thelonious" is a good one...

[ejp626]

John Coltrane's Giant Steps

Remixed by Chris Raschka

Publishers Weekly

This innovative visual deconstruction of one of jazz saxophonist Coltrane's most beloved compositions may be Raschka's (Mysterious Thelonious) most ambitious picture book yet.

I tracked this down and I didn't like it. Bluntly it is a book for adults masquerading as a children's book. The text has no real rhythm to it and the "directions" to the different elements can't be adequately verbalized. Stuff like watching a square (the square stands in for Tyner I think) squeeze up and down. Now supposedly this is watching them practise Giant Steps, but how many parents are going to be able to translate these images into sounds, particularly given the limited verbiage and no rhythmic cues. I sure can't. Possibly I could have done it with Naima. But anywhere there isn't much at all that a child would like here, so I don't quite know who this is marketed at. Far too hip for its own good.

On the other hand, I did like The Penguin Quartet by Peter Arrhenius.

It still doesn't have rhythm that matches the goings-on in the book, but at least the story is engaging, though thoroughly silly. Basically four penguins decide to start a jazz band, fly to New York and immediately get their big break.

Now the Bebop Express by H. L. Panahi does have a pretty good rhythm going on, and I thought it has been the best so far of matching pictures and words to jazz.

[Big Beat Steve]

Unless I am very much mistaken and this is supposed to be a plug for newly-released kids' books with jazz overtones (or jazz books with kids' overtones, however you look at it, cf. that comment on the Monk book above), I am surprised nobody has mentioned that "First book of Jazz" by Langston Hughes yet. Pretty timeless IMO.

That said, I do like that Bird kids' book theme.

Edit: Oops, Baker (who else? ) beat me to it. His post tends to get crowded out by the others with their color cover scans, etc. so another mention of Langston Hughes' book is in order I guess.

Edited March 13, 2009 by Big Beat Steve

[JSngry]

Check it out: http://fivejs.com/the-clever-carpenter-a-clever-read-aloud/

Samuel is a carpenter who is extremely creative when it comes to completing jobs for the people of his town. From a dresser with uniquely-shaped drawers to a school slide with loop-de-loops, his creations are met with a lot of resistance. But Samuel doesn’t change who he is, and he presses on even under the the negative attitudes of those around him. In the end, after building a house for a retired ship’s captain, his perseverance pays off and his creative genius is finally recognized.

More or less sounds like jazz to me...

[Chuck Nessa]

[Late]

I have to say that jazz-themed childrens' books make me ill. I can't get with them at all. And I love childrens' books.

R. Crumb Draws The Blues I do like, but it's not for kids I guess.

[Chuck Nessa]

If you can't mess your kids up on your own, there is a bunch of help available.

[Late]

If you can't mess your kids up on your own, there is a bunch of help available.

In a word: Elmo.

Elmo's not for kids, he's for parents so that they can sedate their kids. (Good for when your kid has a cold and feels miserable.)

[Teasing the Korean]

Straight Life.