Hot Jazz Special [Hardcover]

Jonny Hannah (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Grab your porkpie hat and groove to the swinging artwork and syncopated text of this introduction to nine of the hottest jazz artists of all time.

Join young Henry at the Body & Soul Cafe and enter a world of hipsters, flipsters, and finger-poppin' daddies—where to jump is to jive and to bop is to be! Some of the greatest names in jazz are about to hit the scene, ready to blow those blues away. Meet Jelly Roll Morton, Django Reinhardt, Walter Page, Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Billie Holliday, Charlie Parker, and Duke Ellington, all on one stage for a night you'll never forget. Jonny Hannah has created a one-night special of red-hot rhymes and bold poster-style art that captures the rhythms and feel of jazz for newcomers and fans alike. Musicians' biographies at the end offer suggested listening for savoring the true flavor of each cat's style.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-4–An ambitious attempt to introduce children to eight jazz greats. Some of the names may be familiar as they have been the subject of juvenile biographies–Jonah Winter's Once Upon a Time in Chicago: The Story of Benny Goodman (Hyperion, 2000) and Chris Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (Scholastic, 1992)–but others, such as Django Reinhardt and Jelly Roll Morton, most probably will not. The text is not likely to remedy that as the verse is strained and awkward: "The playing gets faster/as busy as a one-legged tap dancer!/No one is a match./this cat is more than up to scratch." Hand-lettered text changes size, color, and style as often as 12 times per page, and runs vertically and diagonally, making it almost indecipherable. The acrylic, ink, and digital collage illustrations seem frantic rather than exuberant. The brief biographies appended do little to illuminate their subjects. The fact that children are told to unfold the book jacket (a poster is revealed) will strike the final sour note for librarians.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. "HEEBIE JEEBIES! Let's jump & jive! When Satchmo scats, the dead come alive!" With wild, neon-bright, eye-filling graphics, a jacket that folds out into a poster, and hand-lettered lyrics blown to every corner of the page (and reprised somewhat more sedately at the end), Hannah pays tribute to nine old-time jazz greats. From Jelly Roll Morton on piano to Billie Holliday on vocals, he gathers them into a dream band led by (who else?) Duke Ellington, then urges young readers, viewers, and listeners to get into the groove. Hannah closes with biographical snippets and a recommended cut for each of his icons, but he is occasionally careless with fact; he notes that Django Reinhardt lost two fingers on his left hand, but the guitarist appears to have the full complement in Hannah's art. He catches that spirit of the music perfectly, however, making this a swinging, bopping soul mate both to Chris Raschka's jazzy portraits and to Morgan Monceaux's Jazz: My Music, My People (1994). John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (February 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763623083
• ISBN-13: 978-0763623081
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 0.4 x 12.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,362,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars AND THE BEATS GO ON, February 26, 2005

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hot Jazz Special (Hardcover)

Jazz aficionado Jonny Hannah has produced his first children's book, and it rocks! Boldly illustrated and propelled by a lilting rhyming text his story takes young readers along with Henry for an unforgettable night at the Body & Soul Café. This is the place, where some of the greats perform. It's a spot where "Good food and great coffee are the order of the day & here, cool, live tunes in the evening help you blow your blues away."

Jelly Roll Morton plays piano like no one else, Louis Amstrong heats up the beat, and Gene Krupa blisters the skins. Hannah even tells you what required dress is for the Body & Soul Café - two-tone shoes, pin-striped, double-breasted suits, and a good hat (beret or even a bowler).

Perhaps for the first time young ones will be introduced to Charlie Parker "It's played all crazy by a cat called bird," Duke Ellington, and more. A brief biography of each of the performers is included as well as a recommendation for one of their greatest hits. For Billie Holiday? "I Cover The Waterfront," of course.

Hannah, who runs "The Cakes & Ale Press," a publisher of hand-printed remembrances of some of music's one-and-onlys, has an obvious love and respect for jazz - this shows and glows on every page.

- Gail Cooke