Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. "The words of a blues song might be sad, but the music and the beat wrap around your heart like one of your grandmother's hugs," writes Lester, whose enjoyment of blues music stretches back many years. Here, writing in a casual style meant to sound as if he were speaking to his granddaughter, Lester profiles 10 black artists who sang the blues or, presumably, made music influenced by the blues. The profiles are readable, the best being those that include Lester's own experiences and personal reactions and they avoid the sensational--for example, the mystery surrounding Robert Johnson's death is relayed without dwelling on exotic speculation. Illustrator Cohen's art is dynamic, and its intensity makes this a good-looking book. But there are problems, too. The picture-book format may not draw older middle-graders, and the relationship between gospel, blues, jazz, and soul isn't explained well enough for untutored kids. Nor is it always immediately clear why a book about blues singers includes rock "wild man" Little Richard and "Godfather of Soul" James Brown, who doesn't even "consider himself a rock and roll or blues singer." A more concrete sense of the blues would have given kids a better foundation to explore its connection with related types of music, but this does introduce some great singers, and the solid bibliography (mostly adult books) and discography will lead interested kids on to more. --Stephanie Zvirin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Lester's (When Dad Killed Mom, reviewed below) picture-book tribute to the blues an art form in which "the music and the beat wrap around your heart like one of your grandmother's hugs" and some of its greatest performers, hits all the right notes. Framed as a summertime storytelling session between grandfather and granddaughter, the narrative invites readers to picture the pair rocking on a front porch sipping lemonade. Lester profiles 10 blues, or blues-inspired, legends including Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Billie Holiday as well as Mahalia Jackson who was widely considered a gospel singer but was influenced by and certainly influenced other blues singers and Little Richard, who grew out of a blues background to invent rock 'n' roll. Each mini-biography contains factual information about the artist's singing/playing style as well as the author's personal connection to the singer/musician (e.g., "When I was a teenager, I was attending a meeting in Chicago with my church youth group. Mahalia came to our meeting and sang a few songs"). Lester's anecdotal approach, his leisurely pacing and abundance of colorful, down-home similes give the famous figures a tangible presence and make for a music history lesson that goes down as smooth as honey. The book's arresting design features large, boldly hued pull-quotes scattered throughout the text, as well as comments from various artists. Cohen's (Little Lil and the Swing-Singing Sax) chunky, stylized portraits of each singer capture some of the performers' signature looks, but young readers may want to seek out photographs for a different perspective. A bibliography and "Recommended Listening" list suggest opportunities for further exploration of this American music genre. Ages 5-up. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3 Up-An introduction to some of the most influential blues singers of the past century. Writing from the perspective of a grandparent talking to his granddaughter, Lester clearly loves the music. He conveys what it does-"-cures the blues"-and why it is important-"-if it wasn't for the blues, we probably wouldn't have anything to listen to except our toenails growing." The conversational but poetic storytelling voice hits just the right note. In the three pages devoted to each subject, the author relates anecdotes of personal encounters with the performers and stories told to him by his grandparents, and gives explanations about times gone by to help readers understand the context of each person's life. What is remarkable is that despite the limitations of the format, Lester is able to provide significant details about these singers that convey who they were and their influence. The piece about Ray Charles in particular captures the essence of this man's life better than some of the full-length biographies available. The volume is illustrated with full-page stylized portraits in bold, flat colors. Large-print quotes in a variety of pastels and typefaces add to the appealing overall design. A brief bibliography and list of CDs are also included. An essential purchase.-Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Framed as a conversation with the author's granddaughter, this book affectionately and elegantly presents the contributions of Bessie Smith, Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Muddy Waters, Billie Holiday, B. B. King, Ray Charles, Little Richard, James Brown, and Aretha Franklin, all influenced by the blues if not strictly classifiable in that genre. Stylized portraits in bold colors illustrate the book. Bib. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
What is clearly a labor of love creates quite an extraordinary collective biography for young people, from a veteran observer. In the introduction, Lester addresses his granddaughter: One of our jobs is to remember how things used to be so we can tell our grandchildren. Using the cadences of traditional storytelling and the rhythms of grandfatherly affection he recollects the lives of ten great blues singers. Because hes speaking in his grandfather persona, he imbues each of these stories with personal experiences and reflections and fills them with references to tie them to childrens own lives: B.B. King still sleeping with a night light on; Whitney Houston as a child watching her mother, Cissy Houston, sing with Aretha Franklin. He also ties these singers to those who followed them: Janis Joplin paying for half of a tombstone to mark Bessie Smiths grave; the Rolling Stones taking their band name from a Muddy Waters song; Little Richard, in his life as preacher, officiating at the marriages of Cyndi Lauper and Little Steven. Robert Johnson, Mahalia Jackson, Billie Holiday, Ray Charles, and James Brown are included here, too. Beautiful design plays a role, with pulled quotes in vivid colors and multiple typefonts opening up the text blocks of each three-page biography. Each has a full-page image of its subject in bold, black calligraphic filled with strong colors, evoking stained glass. Excellence wears many faces: this works as biography, as source material for school reports, and as compelling storytelling. (bibliography, recommended listening) (Collective biography. 7-10)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
