Sweet Music in Harlem [Hardcover]

Debbie A. Taylor (Author), Frank Morrison (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3–When a famous–but forgetful–Harlem jazz musician finds out he's having his picture taken for a magazine, he sends his nephew on a wild chase through the neighborhood looking for his hat. C. J. hurries from the barbershop to the diner to the jazz club, but at each location he finds, instead of Uncle Click's beret, some other article that the man has left behind. The boy also returns with a crowd of people who are all anxious to be in the picture, too. When the photographer arrives, he finds a colorful group of jazz greats assembled on the brownstone steps. That night, Uncle Click presents C. J. with an early birthday present, a brand new clarinet that puts a sparkle in the aspiring young musician's eye, with the missing hat inside the box. This dazzling tale is filled with energy, rhythm, and style from its attention-grabbing cover to its satisfying ending. An author's note explains that an actual photograph of 57 jazz musicians taken in 1958 inspired the story; the photo is reproduced and all of the artists in it are identified. The acrylic illustrations make the text come alive. Elongated figures stretch, stride, and dance along pages filled with colorful scenes of Harlem. The characters' passion for jazz is echoed on their expressive faces and in their graceful postures, and Uncle Click's affection for his nephew shines through. A wonderful ode to the power of music and of family love.–Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 1-3. C. J.'s uncle Click, a preeminent jazz musician from way back, is readying himself for the arrival of a magazine photographer, but he can't find his signature beret. Young C. J., in a race against time, searches high and low on the streets of Harlem for his uncle's hat. He returns home empty-handed, but he finds, in his wake, a crowd of Harlem singers, musicians, and just plain folks turned out to pose with Uncle Click. As inspiration, Taylor cites the famous Art Kane photo Harlem 1958, which pictures more than 50 musical luminaries gathered on a Harlem stoop for what turned out to be one of the most historic moments in the history of jazz. Taylor's prose moves us smoothly through the streets of Harlem, buoyed by Morrison's earthy acrylics. Especially valuable are an author's note about the photo itself and a key identifying the jazz greats who posed. Terry Glover
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Lee & Low Books (April 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584301651
• ISBN-13: 978-1584301653
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #356,535 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 41/2* Scrapple From the Apple, May 17, 2006

By 

M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Sweet Music in Harlem (Hardcover)

In the late 1950's, new "Esquire" photographer Art Kane photographed 57 great jazz musicians standing and sitting on the staircase and sidewalk of a Harlem greystone. I own the poster reprint, and I enjoy looking at such legends as Coleman Hawkins, Mary Lou Williams, Thelonious Monk, Gene Krupa, Horace Silver, Sonny Rollins, Maxine Sullivan, Gerry Mulligan, Lester Young, Dizzy Gillespie sticking his tongue out at Roy Eldridge, the great and unassuming Count Basie sitting on the curbside next to some neighborhood kids, and there, on the 5th row from the top, cigarette dangling, Mr. Charles Mingus. There's been a lot written about this famous photo, but that's another book...

Debbie Taylor dips into the legend, and dabbles pieces of it throughout her loving portrait of an older jazz musician and the nephew who looks up to him. "C.J." is an aspiring clarinetist living with his Uncle Click, a semi-retired trumpet player who still jams at the "Midnight Melody Club." Click hears that a photographer from "Highnote" is taking his picture, but can't find his "snappy black beret." (It doesn't matter, I suppose, that the black beret was not a staple of trumpet players in the decades in which Chick would have played.) C.J. launches a search through Harlem hangouts looking for the signature hat.

C. J. loves his self-deprecating uncle ("Back then, I played the meanest trumpet in Harlem. Now all I do is lose things."), and runs to various Harlem hangouts-a barber shop, a café, and the "Midnight Melody Club," achieving three main results: Finding various other personal items that Uncle Chick lost, meeting some of Harlem's musicians, and informing the latter about the photo op. occurring soon at Click's place.

The great fun here is spotting the real musicians among the fictional ones portrayed by illustrator Frank Morrison. There's Dizzy and Duke Ellington at the barber shop owned by the fictional "Big Charlie Garlic," whose barber coat makes him look like a zoot-suited bopper. At the "Eat and Run Diner," we see Lester Young and Billie Holiday (curious that they're not sitting together), backgrounded by a NYC horizon of crammed brown buildings. At the club, C. J. finds his uncle's lost bow tie (but not his beret), prompting a singer's comment," He's forgetful, but when Chick blows his trumpet the wallpaper curls." There's a nice, almost rhythmic quality to Ms. Taylor's repeated verbal riffs. At every stop, someone compliments Uncle Chick, and comments on C.J.'s musical potential: "We're saving a spot for you here," says a drummer, "without losing the beat." "I reckon you'll be joining us in a few years." The denouement is exiting and dramatic, as the neighborhood musicians (Lester Young and Diz are both in this book as well as the original picture) gather on the stairs outside Chick's place for the photographer, and Chick not only finds his beret, but gives C. J. a new trumpet.

The book is colorful and energetic, and Debbie Taylor keeps the story moving briskly. For that reason alone, I think kids will enjoy it. There are, however, a few minor problems here, mostly in the illustrations. We're told that the book is inspired by Art Kane's photo, so it need not be historically accurate. However, the misspelling of bebop as "Bee Bop," the exclusion of famous musicians from the Harlem neighborhood (legal reasons?), and a Harlem that lacks a clear sense of time and place-all these elements reduce the book's impact. Perhaps on the theory that "more is more," illustrator Frank Morrison doesn't let up on the long-limbs, stretched curvy lines, and vivid shots of color filling the book. The best jazz musicians know when to "lay out," but Morrison just keeps pouring it on.

For some reason, the publishers felt it necessary to inform us that these aren't just illustrations done by some slouch, but by "fine artist Morrison," whose works are collected by people such as Bill Cosby and Maya Angelou. It's a little condescending to the great illustrators of kids' books for kids, and it hints of a time when the popular image of a jazz musician (nurtured in its sartorial aspects by Dizzy) was of a beret-wearing, unschooled performer not in the same league as classical music performers. I recommend the book, but with a sense that it could have been better.

4.0 out of 5 stars Sweet Music in Harlem - Ahgoo Review, November 20, 2011

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Ahgoo Review - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sweet Music in Harlem (Hardcover)

One word came to mind as I read this book: community. The book was inspired by a picture that featured many people gathered on stairs with young children sitting at the base of them. The picture is pretty fantastic and it is no wonder it inspired a story. We follow C.J. around Harlem as he interacts with people that know him and his uncle. It is a warm feeling to know that everyone knows him.

The story is a search for a hat but what C.J. finds is so much more important. The famous photograph that inspired the story is of famous jazz musicians called Harlem 1958, by Art Kane. I love looking at old photographs of an era that came and went. It makes me imagine what things must have been like. I would love to have been around in those times when music was everywhere and everyone knew your name.

The artwork can be called nothing else. It is art. How anyone can fill an entire book with high quality illustrations has always left me in a state of awe. This book is no exception. The illustration really help transport the reader to a time when music and community were of the utmost importance. This book allows me to experience a feeling that I would otherwise never experience. I felt myself immersed in a culture different from my own and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

ahgooreview.com

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Story!, May 22, 2011

By 

Ginger Thomas "Ginny" (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sweet Music in Harlem (Hardcover)

Really cute, my girls loved this story. My two kids loved this book. They're 4 and 6 and sat to listen to the whole thing. The art work is beautiful and captivating and there's a surprise at the end that will tickle your funny bone like it did ours. Great story!