The Jazz Fly (book w/ audio CD) [Hardcover]

Matthew Gollub (Author), Karen Hanke (Illustrator)

Book Description

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

Grades pre-K through 4th. A singular story celebrating language and the improvisational spirit of jazz. While seeking directions to town, a scat-singing fly picks up the animal sounds he hears from a frog, a hog, a donkey, and dog. Late that night, at the insect jazz club, the fly uses these sounds to create a new way to play jazz. He is last seen riding off in a fine stretch limousine.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1-When a drummer fly gets lost on his way to a gig, he tries to get directions from a frog, a pig, a donkey, and a dog, but none of them speaks his language. He finally finds his way to the club and all is well until the Queen Bee demands "-a new BEAT/or this band is OUT!" The fly is stymied until he remembers the retorts of the animals he heard on his way and uses those noises to create a whole new sound that makes the band famous. The rhyming text includes scat refrains like "ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-zah RO-ni" that just beg to be read aloud. The unique illustrations, gray-toned pictures with contrasting hints of pastel colors, were accomplished by scanning pencil sketches into a Macintosh computer and then re-creating them with Adobe Illustrator. One spread features the gray figures of the bassist and saxophonist spotlighted in green and pink, respectively. The text itself is cleverly designed. Words representing sounds are portrayed as if they are coming right out of the animals' mouths in colored fonts. Together the illustrations and book design give the whole enterprise the feel of jazz, even without musical accompaniment. The accompanying CD is delightful. Gollub narrates with a jazzy beat, and the danceable music perfectly accentuates the story. Children will love hearing this book read aloud and imitating the animal sounds and other refrains. A natural for storytimes.
Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

A fly gets lost on his way to a performance, so he asks several animals how to get to town: "ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-zah RO-ni?" he asks. The frog, the hog, and the donkey don't understand Jazz Fly, but, fortunately, the dog does. Arriving at the club, Jazz Fly sits down at his drums and begins to play, incorporating the animal sounds into his music to great audience response. The story is slight but bouncy, especially as it's told by the author on the accompanying audie CD, with the narration heightened by the music of a jazz quartet. The illustrations are mostly black, white, and gray, with splashes of color to accentuate the jazzy style. Susan Dove Lempke
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Tortuga Pr; 1St Edition edition (May 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1889910171
• ISBN-13: 978-1889910178
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 10.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Bugs & Spiders
  • #38 in Books > Children's Books > Arts, Crafts & Music > Performing Arts

More About the Author

Matthew Gollub is a children's author, speaker, storyteller and musician. He has created 15 picture books which together have garnered 25 national awards and distinctions. His musical narrations on audio CD--set to jazz, Latin jazz or rhythm and blues combos--accompany some of his most popular books. (Yes, that's also him playing drums behind his vocals.) He delights in introducing rhythmic sounds to kids while engaging their imaginations with stories. His idea of a successful children's book with audio is one that kids, and grown-ups, can savor time and again.

Kudos for Gollub's latest title, "Jazz Fly 2: The Jungle Pachanga", include: Foreword Reviews Best Books of the Year Gold Award Winner; USA Book News Best Books 2010 Award Winner; International Book Awards Winner; Parents' Choice Award; Moonbeam Children's Book Award Gold Medal.

Acclaim for the original "Jazz Fly," his all-time bestselling title, includes: Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book Award; America's #1 Recommended Children's Book, Children's Book Sense 76; Benjamin Franklin Award for Children's Book with Audio; Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children; California Department of Education Suggested Reading; San Francisco Chronicle Editors' Picks.

"Gobble, Quack, Moon," loosely based on the author's family as he grew up, likewise received a Benjamin Franklin Award and was a Top 10 Book Sense selection among independent booksellers nationwide. This title enjoys a further distinction in that the author's mother has named it her favorite book!

A dynamic, bilingual (English and Spanish) presenter, Gollub has performed at over 1,000 elementary schools, providing language arts enrichment for over half a million students. His goal as an author/speaker is to inspire young people to read for fun. He lives with his wife and son in California, one hour north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's not just for older kids!, June 29, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Jazz Fly (book w/ audio CD) (Hardcover)

I thought my husband was crazy when he ordered this book. Our 2 boys are 3 and 2, and I thought they were just too young for it. As a band director, he's always introducing the kids to every aspect of music. There's a lot of books to introduce children's songs and classical music, but this is the first one we've found on Jazz. The boys have asked for this book every night since we got it (about 1 month ago). They take turns being the different characters and playing their respective instruments. It's so catchy, I find myself singing the words quite often throughout the day.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Fly is Jammin'!, June 18, 2002

By 

C. Johns (Los Alamitos, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Jazz Fly (book w/ audio CD) (Hardcover)

As a teacher, I am always searching for quality literature to supplement and boost my curriculum. This book is amazing! Not only is it an enchanting story, it encourages children to think creatively. The introduction of "scat" singing encourages language play and rhyming in new ways. The accompanying CD enabled the children to appreciate Jazz, exposing them to the actual sounds and combinations of the instruments. My class embraced this story and made it their own, retelling it over and over again. As a parent, I was thrilled when my own children discovered Jazz, thanks to The Jazz Fly. They now enjoy identifying various instruments and are eager to learn more about music. This is an upbeat, positive addition to library!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jazz Fly jams!, May 21, 2001

By 

Rebecca Brown "rebeccasreads" (Clallam Bay, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Jazz Fly (book w/ audio CD) (Hardcover)

What's the buzz? It's a fly who speaks jazz & he's asking different critters which way to town. The frog, the hog, the donkey & the dog all say it differently & the Jazz Fly hears music in their words.

Karen Hanke's vivid & vibrantly elegant illustrations zing & zap you from each page. I loved Sammy the Centipede & Willie the Worm - hoppin' & boppin' until the Jazz Club is jammin'. Weird & wonderful!

The Jazz Fly is different & fun - a real tongue-twister. Joyous with anticipation, invention & inspiration. There's a CD on which the author reads his story & a jazz combo plays: ~ skit ~ scat ~ fancy that! Great Stuff! Well done!