  | Full Text Reviews: Bulletin for the Center... - 04/01/2008 The ambient sounds of everyday life may roll past most of us as so much white noise, but young John Coltrane sat up and took notice. In Weatherford’s litany of the boy’s experiences, “hambones knocking in Grandma’s pots,” “Bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show,” “the sobs of kinfolk at family funerals,” and “blue notes crooning his name” would later emerge from his saxophone as “a bold new song.” This is as much a subtle invitation for children to listen to their own worlds as it is a Coltrane biography; indeed, details about the musician’s life are relegated to a lengthy concluding note that helps explain bits of the preceding text and offers information about his adult career. Although there may be some temptation to compare Weatherford’s title with Chris Raschka’s picture-book opus John Coltrane’s Giant Steps (BCCB 9/02), it’s clear that the two authors bring very different intents: Raschka explores the sound of the music, and Weatherford examines childhood influences on Coltrane’s musical development. A more telling comparison might be made between Qualls’ illustrations and his previous artwork for Winter’s Dizzy (BCCB 11/06); this soulful-eyed child surrounded by bubbles and ribbons of music could nearly be mistaken for Gillespie, and the plaster-like brushwork in the mixed-media pictures is, if not a recycled approach, at least a stylistic reprise. Suggestions for further reading and a brief discography are included. EB - Copyright 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. School Library Journal - 04/01/2008 Gr 3-6-"Before John was a jazz giant,/he/was/all/ears." He heard "hambones knocking" in a pot on the stove, steam engines, tap dancers, preachers, sobs, cheers, and birdsongs. And he heard music-his father's ukelele, the family Victrola, church hymns, the community band, jitterbug music, and big bands playing on the radio, "blue notes crooning his name." So he picked up the saxophone and poured all the sounds he'd heard into music all his own. Weatherford's evocative poem traces Coltrane's influences simply and stunningly, her redolent voice as smooth and vivid as jazz itself. Qualls's double-page, full-bleed illustrations combine acrylic, collage, and pencil in surrealist renderings of young Coltrane soaking up the sounds surrounding him. A muted palette of rich hues suggests the smoky jazz moods he would create, the sounds dreamily dancing through the air amid streaming ribbons of music. A full-page biography of Coltrane concludes the volume, along with a list of recommended listening and further reading, making this picture book appealing to all ages studying jazz or African American history. Pair it with recordings of Coltrane for added appeal to a wide audience.-Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information. - Copyright 2008 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 02/01/2008 The beat of lyrical words and the rhythm of the beautiful illustrations express how, as a child, jazz-musician Coltrane heard music in the world around him. Vibrant with color and movement, double-page spreads in acrylic, collage, and pencil extend the images about the magical sounds of everyday things: “hambones knocking in Grandma’s pots, / Daddy strumming the ukelele, / and Mama cranking the phonograph.” In the climax Coltrane transforms those sounds to make his great music, “breathed every sound / he’d ever known into a bold new song.” Never cluttered, the remembered visions of steaming trains, church, birdsong, radio, and home blend on the pages with waves of sound coming from Coltrane’s horn. Specific as the images are to growing up in the South in the 1930s, they will still echo with contemporary children, who will recognize the music in their daily lives. A long note at the back fills in biographical detail and recommends books and CDs. This is more accessible than John Coltrane’s Giant Steps (2002), by Chris Raschka. - Copyright 2008 Booklist. Loading...
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