Customer Reviews

John Coltrane's Giant Steps (Richard Jackson Books (Atheneum Hardcover))

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Chris Raschka is one of our most ambitious children's book illustrators. When he's good, he's great, and he wins the Caldecott Award for best children's illustration. When he tries too hard, he's sly but opaque, clever but obscure. "Waffle," for example, plays with concept at the expense of clarity, and the result is a disappointing mish-mosh. This book is on the heady side, but musically-inclined youngsters guided by a talented teacher, parent, or other adult will enjoy's Raschka's imaginative deconstruction/reconstruction of Coltrane's magnificent jazz piece.

Raschka almost nails it with this visual and verbal description of saxophonist John Coltrane's incredible "Giant Steps," a landmark number of dizzying complexity, speed, and joy that most energetic younsters would like on its own. However, much of the appeal lies in a very intellectual exercise requiring levels of abstract thinking and reading ability beyond most of the young audience who will be attracted to the picture book format. However, teenagers, pre-adolescents with a musical bent, and adults will appreciate Raschka sensitive evaluation of Coltrane's talent. Younger kids might like the colorful (although not vividly colorful) pictures, and the pictures of the raindrops, snowflake, and cat. However, these by themselves are not that appealing, and the song's "narration" is clever but not a very interesting story. That is why the book doesn't quite work for early elementary school-age kids reading it on their own.

The most fascinating aspect of Raschka's "Giant Steps" is that he purposely draws the song all wrong! The book disappoints, and then tricks us, because Raschka knows exactly what he was doing. The cat narrator leads the shapes and colors in a visual performance of Coltrane's number, but the impression is, well, unimpressive. Even for a metaphor of Coltrane's music, the colors look blurry and the composition are unfocused.

However, at a break in the performance (on pages 24 and 25), Raschka gently tells us that the preceeding images (by Raschka) were not quite right, were not Coltrane. The "performers" (and the reader) must understand that Coltrane was strong, yes, but "strong yet light." The colors should be rich, not "muddy," because "Coltrane's music is dense but transparent." And while Coltrane did blow "a fountain of notes, a shower of notes...those notes made lines that were dynamic and strong and vivid." In a remarkable performace of his own,. Raschka redraws the musical sequence to reflect these attributes, and this time he captures the rhythms, sounds, and energetic clarity of Coltrane. It's a masterful achievement, but I don't know how many kids will appreciate it. A dazzling, albeit puzzling, work that stands, as Ellington once said, "beyond category."

We really liked reading John Coltrane's Giant Steps. We want to read it again and again. The pictures look very cool. We like the way that the illustrator created all the shapes like the box, the snowflake, and the raindrops. We also like the words that the author uses to describe the music.

Our favorite part was when the director tells the shapes and the kitten what they did wrong. Listening to the music really helped us understand the book. Some of us wish that the author had given us the cd with the book. Others of us think it was great the way it was!

Chris Raschka writes good books!

When you review a picture book you have a responsibility to two kinds of consumers: The parents who buy the books and the children who read them. Now when I was a kid you probably could've handed me junky handwritten papers illustrated in crayon and I would've loved them. Children know what they do and do not like and it is the responsibility of their parents to choose well-written worthwhile books that will stand the test of time for their youngsters' brains. However, at the same time you don't want to be the kind of parent who only gets books for your kids that are "good' for them. I see these kinds of adults all the time. Unfortunate children are dragged to my library and forced to read books like "Gulliver's Travels" and "Treasure Island" which, while good, aren't the kinds of books that reluctant readers are instantly going to gravitate towards. The same goes for picture books. Sometimes I'll recommend a picture book that children may initially find dull or confusing simply because it's either a work of art or so well-written that I'm sure the children will grow to love it. Which brings me, in a definitely roundabout way, to "John Coltrane's Giant Steps". This is a book that undoubtedly seemed like a good idea when it was thought up. I mean, what could be cooler? You take a John Coltrane song and then using artist Chris Raschka's remarkable watercolor and inks show the song as a visual piece of work. The idea is sublime. The result is deathly dull and confusing for kids.

If you are not familiar with "Giant Steps" the song, you may wish to listen to it as you read this book. The book begins with the words, "Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book. We have something very special for you tonight. It's John Coltrane's marvelous and tricky composition `Giant Steps,' performed for you by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten. Why not stay and see it?". Why not indeed. The song begins well enough. The raindrops (featured as all blue or while within blue) provide the tempo. The box is the "foundation" or bottom. The snowflake is the harmony. Finally, the kitten is the melody. The song proceeds nicely enough until it collapses into a seething pile of confusion. The narrator chastises each element and corrects them (using a red colored pencil to circle faults and flaws). Helpful comments include lines like, "I know you're our foundation and you've got to be strong. But can you be strong yet light?". They try again with far better results and the book ends on a high (ha ha) note.

I think I've figured out why the book doesn't work. It isn't just that Raschka has failed to include a cd of the song (a necessity). This is simply a book that has to be read with a cd that speaks to the reader and stops and starts the music perfectly with the book. Otherwise, there's no point in playing the song with this book when the text halts midway through to make corrections. Now I love Raschka's style, don't get me wrong. But the book would still be interesting to children if he'd gone so far as to make the kitten a little more realistic and a little less expressionistic.

In a way, I feel that Chris Raschka just strove a little too hard. This book's a work of art, no question. But it's just not interesting to kids. I'm not saying the right kind of dedicated parent couldn't MAKE their kids interested in it. But this isn't the kind of picture book I see the kiddies pulling down off of the shelf to take home. Mostly, this is a book appreciated by adults who want their children to like jazz. Good luck with that. There are plenty of great jazz-based picture books out there, you know. "Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuoso", by Andrea Davis Pinkney is a fine example. But this is a picture book that will be loved by children over the age of 12. Just bear that in mind should you purchase it.

Chris Raschka has to be one of my favorite illustrators. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop, Yo! Yes?, a Caldecott Honoree, and Arlene Sardine are some of my favorite picture books of all time. But when I picked up John Coltrane's Giant Steps, things changed. Yes, Giant Steps is creative. Yes, it's gutsy. But on paper, 'Steps' falls flat on it's artsy face.

The first pages of Giant Steps introduce us to 'a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten', our performers. We are then told (while the 'performers are limbering up') about the Giant Steps' composer, a man by the name of John Coltrane. Afterwards the box, the snowflake, the raindrops, and the kitten begin their strange dance, blending their differing colors in 'harmony'. The performers carry on with their dance, by now leaving the young readers either confused or annoyed. Then the dance suddenly stops, and the narrorator corrects our dancers on their various mistakes. And then the dance begins again! *Sighs*

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and say that ninety-nine percent of children will not enjoy this book. The one percent (if that many) that will, have already heard of John Coltrane and his Giant Steps. The other ninety-nine, like I said before, will probably hate it, like I, myself did. Even Chris Raschka's paintings do little to distract the viewer from this terrible book! I'll admit that Giant Steps had a beautiful and creative premise, but it sadly falls into the cliche of 'Just because it sounds good, doesn't mean it'll look good on paper!'

R, your friendly neighborhood reviewer.

"Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book. We have something very special for you tonight. It's John Coltrane's marvelous and tricky composition, "Giant Steps," performed for you by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten..." So begins the conductor's introduction to Chris Raschka's brilliant visual jazz rendition of Giant Steps. First he explains a little about who John Coltrane is, and how his music was composed, "...[he] wrote music which, in his hands, became swirling, leaping, tumbling "sheets of sound." That's what he called it. But why tell you when we can show you?" Then the composition begins with the raindrops, the tempo, "not too fast and not too slow." Next he layers the box, the base, "...the bottom. It's something to build on." Here comes the snowflake, the piano, "showing us the harmony, the beautiful frame." And last, the kitten, the melody, "watch her take some giant steps across the page." As Mr Raschka "conducts", problems begin to occur, the shapes and colors collapse, and he finally yells STOP! "People, people! What happened? Okay, okay, let's take a look at some trouble spots." After detailing when, where and how each shape went wrong, and giving constructive directions, the composition begins again. "Let's take it from page 14. Raindrop, box, snowflake, kitten. GO. Sheets of color. Sheets of sound. Bravo. Bravo, everyone." Mr Raschka's entertaining text, written in an engaging, conversational style, is informative and enlightening. His layering of shapes and colors provides a clever and creative visual understanding of jazz and John Coltrane's "sheets of sound." Together word and art dazzles, Giant Steps comes to life on the page, and imaginations soar. Perfect for youngsters 6-10, John Coltrane's Giant Steps is Chris Raschka at his very best, and is an innovative and inventive introduction to understanding jazz, no young music lover should miss.

I love this book because you can "hear" Chris Raschka's enthusiasm to share the extraordinary sound of Coltrane with readers. You need not ever have heard of Coltrane before but once you read this book to a child you'll want to hear exactly what the artist himself described as "sheets of sound." Raschka's watercolor illustrations are a metaphor for the layers of harmonies and rhythms of music. I loved the little quips that are delightful plays on words like: "remixed by Chris Raschka" and a conductor's reprisal: "First of all, raindrops, you were rushing on page 19".
Clever, cute and Coltrane.

This book is really something! It's unlike any other book I've ever read. It is not just a book -- it is an experience. What a creative mind Chris Raschka has! My 4 year old and my 7 year old both loved it. So did I. I highly recommend it.

I enjoyed reading the book and I think the drawings and the writing are excellent. It was very inspiring to me. No adults had influence on me reading this book. I read it at an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago. I particularly like how they start to do something in the book and stop it and then start again. I would like to know the song. A lot of reviewers say it would not be for children but I am saying that lots of children might like it if they would just sit down and read it. I remember the book much better than my aunt and she admits it. I am 9 years old and my aunt, who signed in to Amazon, is typing this for me.

I was terribly disappointed by this children's book. The problem I have with it is that it is way too abstract for a young mind to grasp. The author tries to make it simple with his illustrations and choice of representations of instruments but I don't think it works . The cat, raindrops, box and snowflake are not interesting.I think this book would only confuse a young student. His sheets of color as sheets of sound do not work. Interesting concept but I don't care for it, especially as a teaching tool for young students. A great jazz musician like Trane deserves better, richer colors, deeper meaning and in general, a better children's book.

"Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book. We have something very special for you tonight. It's John Coltrane's marvelous and tricky composition, "Giant Steps," performed for you by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten..." So begins the conductor's introduction to Chris Raschka's brilliant visual jazz rendition of Giant Steps. First he explains a little about who John Coltrane is, and how his music was composed, "...[he] wrote music which, in his hands, became swirling, leaping, tumbling "sheets of sound." That's what he called it. But why tell you when we can show you?" Then the composition begins with the raindrops, the tempo, "not too fast and not too slow." Next he layers the box, the base, "...the bottom. It's something to build on." Here comes the snowflake, the piano, "showing us the harmony, the beautiful frame." And last, the kitten, the melody, "watch her take some giant steps across the page." As Mr Raschka "conducts", problems begin to occur, the shapes and colors collapse, and he finally yells STOP! "People, people! What happened? Okay, okay, let's take a look at some trouble spots." After detailing when, where and how each shape went wrong, and giving constructive directions, the composition begins again. "Let's take it from page 14. Raindrop, box, snowflake, kitten. GO. Sheets of color. Sheets of sound. Bravo. Bravo, everyone." Mr Raschka's entertaining text, written in an engaging, conversational style, is informative and enlightening. His layering of shapes and colors provides a clever and creative visual understanding of jazz and John Coltrane's "sheets of sound." Together word and art dazzles, Giant Steps comes to life on the page, and imaginations soar. Perfect for youngsters 6-10, John Coltrane's Giant Steps is Chris Raschka at his very best, and is an innovative and inventive introduction to understanding jazz, no young music lover should miss.