Bring on that Beat [Hardcover]

Rachel Isadora (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Pluck a fat bass, play me an ace.

Trumpet a song, groove the night long. Saxophone jive, keep us alive!

When a jazz trio begins playing under a streetlamp, everyone comes out to listen and dance. It's Harlem in the 1930s, and jazz has the power to make them groove. Combining her fine oil painting style with computer-manipulated colors, Rachel represents the shapes and colors of jazz in a tribute to Duke Ellington with a nod toward painters Klee and Kandinsky. Operating almost wordlessly, the innovative visuals are sprinkled with riffs of slang in snappy couplets-telling a bigger story of how the influence of jazz goes far beyond the neighborhood in this book. This tour de force brings jazz alive for the youngest children.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Some false notes won't keep most kids from enjoying Isadora's (Ben's Trumpet) tribute to the jazz that filled the streets of 1930s Harlem. Rather uninspired rhymed couplets make up the text: "Bring on that beat,/ Wake up the street./ Saxophone jive,/ keep us alive." Yet the visuals succeed in bringing the era to life. Full-spread black-and-white oil paintings depict a humming Harlem whose residents are seen either making or enjoying music. Small, electric-hued watercolor designs, laid over these scenes with the use of a computer, represent the tunes emanating from a variety of instruments played from stoop and rooftop. Though younger readers may have trouble making the connection between musical strains and these multicolored freeform shapes, the vivid splashes jazz up the otherwise muted graphics and express the energy that emanates from the music. Ages 4-8.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Gr 1-4-In this exuberant celebration of jazz, black endpapers usher readers into a quiet city neighborhood, in Harlem in the '30s, where a trio emerges from a jazz hall to "Wake up the street" with a jam session under the lights. People begin to peek out of shops and gather around the stoop where the musicians "Bring on that beat." Children and adults alike begin to swing and before long, the music moves up to the roof. More people join in, leaning out of windows, congregating on the fire escape, and dancing on the rooftop. Isadora's black-and-white spreads suggest a bygone era when boys wore knickers and cars looked very different. The art is executed in oil and overlaid with computer-generated watercolor splashes of Klee- and Kandinsky-like designs that simulate the sounds. Even the buildings seem to sway to the beat. One interesting spread depicts children in yellow-orange-red silhouette dancing on piano keys that extend from the buildings as the Man in the Moon, with the face of Duke Ellington, looks on. While the rhyming text, which appears in large negative type on a black background, is minimal, its constant urging to "bring on that beat" and its jazz rhythm works powerfully with the illustrations to evoke the excitement and swelling of the music from a quiet corner to a building to the whole city. Pair this offering with Chris Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (Orchard, 1992) and Isadora's Ben's Trumpet (Greenwillow, 1979) for a swinging good time.

Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First edition. edition (January 14, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039923232X
• ISBN-13: 978-0399232329
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 9.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,539,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A visually striking celebration of jazz, July 2, 2002

By 

Michael J. Mazza - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bring on that Beat (Hardcover)

"Bring on That Beat," by Rachel Isadora, is a book that celebrates jazz through poetry and illustrations. The book jacket notes that it takes place in Harlem in the 1930s.

The illustrations are primarily in black-and-white, with a charcoal-like look. Superimposed on these illustrations are playfully surreal multicolored accents. The result is quite striking; the book has a visual style that bursts with fun and energy.

The illustrations capture many marvelous images: children dancing, a band jamming on a rooftop, a brilliantly lit-up city skyline, a trumpeter lit by streetlight. Duke Ellington is celebrated in the book's poetry: "Duke Ellington-- / King o' the sun. / Cool as a cat, / He's where it's at." "Bring On" is an excellent celebration of American culture.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hot Hot Hot, April 28, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bring on that Beat (Hardcover)

This is just the best book I have ever seen. I mean this! I am a music teacher in Southern California in the public school system and a student's parent showed it to me. I went on line to order a copy and saw this review option and decided that this was such a fantastic book I had to put in the time to tell people. I hope this gets published. I loved this book because it makes you really see music.....jazz. It sings. I could see the sounds. I showed it to my 5th graders and they had a blast and decided to do a project based on it. They are composing music with pictures to accompany it. What a thrill to have someone create such a book! Jazz is the love of my life and this is just GREAT!

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a book is filled with the creatvity of music, October 30, 2005

By 

Guide Mom "Peace" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bring on that Beat (Hardcover)

I bought this for my 2 1/2 year old son who loves music. I found myself reading and making music based on the flow of the words. Everytime we read we create different music. This is his favorite relaxtion book. We went to a music feast and he yelled out "Pluck a fat bass. Play me a ace." to the bass player. Who smiled and proceeded to do just that... This is a rich and well written book.