Jazz Baby [Hardcover]

Lisa Wheeler (Author), R. Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2007 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years

With a simple clap of hands, an itty-bitty beboppin' baby gets his whole family singing and dancing. Sister's hands snap. Granny sings scat. Uncle soft-shoes--and Baby keeps the groove. Things start to wind down when Mama and Daddy sing blues so sweet. Now a perfectly drowsy baby sleeps deep, deep, deep.

    

Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie pair up for a celebration of music, imagination, and big families--but they know that even a jazz baby needs to snooze. Oh yeah.

Editorial Reviews

Review

* "Wheeler’s verse scans (Kirkus Reviews 20071015)

* "To the contagious rhythm of the text, Baby and his extended family members be-bop and hip-hop, and generally make jazzy music. “Brother’s hands tap./Sister’s hands snap./Itty-bitty Baby’s hands/CLAP-CLAP-CLAP!” Meanwhile, the youngster is passed from arm to arm, bouncing and bopping, smiling and waving, until–worn out–he allows himself to be tucked into his crib. Against stark white pages, Christie’s paintings in sepia/ochre tones highlighted with brighter shades of green, blue, violet, and red add to the happy, hoppin’ scene. The stylized African Americans with happy, expressive faces, outlined in free-form black line, dance and sway across the pages along with the words (in large and supersize font). Read aloud with a strong emphasis on the beat and a little body movement, too, this lively poetic piece will charm many a little person and provide a joyful musical experience for readers, as well." (starred review)

(School Library Journal 20080101)

About the Author

LISA WHEELER is the author of many irresistible read-aloud picture books. She lives near Detroit, Michigan.

 

R. GREGORY CHRISTIE is an outstanding talent in picture books and has won three Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honors. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152025227
• ISBN-13: 978-0152025229
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,245 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

LISA WHEELER is the author of several award-winning picture books, including Sixteen Cows, One Dark Night, and Mammoths On the Move, which recently received a Parent's Choice Recommended Award. She lives near Detroit, Michigan. www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Get with This Jazz Beat. (One of my favorites of the Year!) September 13, 2008

By M. Allen Greenbaum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This exuberant, high-flying kids' book is a toe-tapping, body-shaking, joyful book for kids and the grown-ups who read to them. It swings rifht from the start, coming straight on with verve and energy. Let me excerpt a little here so you can see (and hear, and feel) what I mean:

Grandpa TOOT-TOOTS,
Granny sings scat.
BItty boppin'Baby goes
RAT-TAT-TAT!

Mama sings high,
Daddy sings low.
Snazzy-jazzy Baby says "Go, Man, Go!"

THere's more dancing and singing and bebopping, and then, just like song returning to its chorus, there's a return (only slightly modified) to some of the earlier words and actions:

Momma swings high.
Daddy swings low.
Swingin'=singin' Baby says "Go, Man, GO!"

Wow--this is easy, fun reading, all natural and rhythmic and nothing forced in meter or rhyme. It's a lot like a jazz piece--SOme central ideas (The Baby as the central person, dancing, singing), with some riffs that broaden and extend those themes (e.g., the extended family as subtext, a brief exploration of some jazz instruments and their sounds, the baby getting drowsy and going to sleep...)

This sort of spontaneity extends to the gouache illustrations by award-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie. It may take several readings for one to fully appreciate his casual style and how well it fits the rhythm and feeling of the book. The emphasis is on motion and tempo, on the dancer/singer and his or her ability to fill up space with movement and sound. Christie treats us to views of the elongated dancers' limbs, bright, sometimes surprising colors, and even long shots of buildings swaying to the beat. In a sequence that recalls "Fantasisa, the notes dance off a musical cleff, grow daces, and dance around "Baby."

I've found that too many kids' "jazz" books really focus on the blues--usually the rural blues, seen through an awkward sentimentalism--or solely on dance. Sometimes they confuse eras, portraying any jazz singer as a combination of Bessie Smith, post-WWII hep cats, and 1950's beats.

Jazz Baby does mention such non-jazz genres as the blues and hip-hop, and (of course) focuses more concretely on dance than on the music, yet the spirit of jazz pervades the entire book. The prose and pictures coalesce into a stylistic/emotional sister to jazz music. It's a fine achievement, that conveys all this without effort or strain. Most of all, it's just a lot of fun!

"Daddy sings blues.
Mama sings sweet.
While that snoozy-woozy baby... lllsleeps deep, deep, deep.

OH YEAH!"

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for toddlers! April 26, 2008

By MD Mom

Format:Hardcover

This book is a wonderful rhythmic short story about a baby and his family. The rhythm of the words encourages the reader and listeners to get involved and to enjoy the musical nature of the story as told and in terms of content. It is one of our children's favorites and is frequent in our bedtime rotation. I highly recommend it to parents who arent afraid of getting a little creative with the stories they read and for children who are musically inclined.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Must buy! January 8, 2009

By S. Murphy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

After borrowing this book from the library, I had to buy it. My 2 yr old was so delighted by the rhythm of the book that she can almost read the whole thing herself. She loves to complete the sentences for me. As a parent reading many books to two toddlers, this is my favorite. Its never boring and so jazzy!