This French import incorporates classic jazz tunes from the 1920s through ’50s with the determined aspirations of an angel-voiced Brazilian cricket. Zaz stows away to New York in a lady’s fancy hat, encountering poverty and stormy weather once there. A blue fly named Buster shows her the secret entrance (via a downward tunnel in the 26th lamppost on East 54th Street) to the Swing Café. Norac’s metaphor-strewn narrative creates interludes for specific musical compositions (heard along with the text on the accompanying CD). For example, Vess L. Ossman’s banjo tune “A Bunch of Rags” cues up when Zaz gets stuck in some banjo strings during her fall down to the café. Dautremer’s sophisticated illustrations combine surreal elements (wheeled boats and fire hydrants, for example), archival jazz posters and insects depicted as people, with merest species suggestions. Ellington dominates (no quibble there), but Fats, Cab and Ella get nods, too. The CD is narrated by David Frances and Brazilian-American singer Bebel Gilberto. The text’s a bit long on gratuitous adventure, but the package is unusual and fresh. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-2-923163-62-8
Page Count: 54
Publisher: The Secret Mountain
Review Posted Online: July 29, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2010
Amusing but a little off tempo.
It’s important to hit all the right notes.
A tan-skinned musical composer with puffy black hair is busy at work on his next musical masterpiece when Half Note, a music symbol denoting two beats, feels unappreciated. Half Note is jealous of the more commonly used Quarter Note (one beat) and Eighth Note. Although the other musical symbols attempt to calm and comfort Half Note, she decides to run away. The next day, Composer needs Half Note and panics when he realizes that she’s gone. The other notes and musical symbols try to find her, but it’s only when they try to play her favorite song, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,” without her—with terrible results—that she comes running back. The story’s humor—which is largely based on “dad joke” puns—is completely dependent on readers’ musical knowledge. The artwork, a mix of acrylic and colored pencil, attempts to add some allegrezza to the piece, and while it’s not unsuccessful, it’s facing an uphill battle. Music teachers and musically minded caregivers may find some value in this story, but it will likely be too specialized for general readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Amusing but a little off tempo. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: March 14, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-64567-631-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Page Street
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
It’s a slam dunk
Lucy discovers that the way to learn to play basketball is with friends on a neighborhood court.
Lucy loves playing in the park, and one day she and her friends join their friend Ava and her cousin in their new favorite sport: basketball. Pro player Jermaine, aka “Coach J,” teaches all the basics—footwork, quick passes, dribbling, and a variety of shots. But he also encourages the players to keep trying when they miss, stresses the value of teamwork, and focuses on fun as they learn and later play a practice game. At the end of the workout, Coach J invites the young players to watch him and his team play. Written in loose rhyming couplets, the text has many near rhymes and inconsistent meter. While the storyline is predictable, the book is a good introduction to basketball terms, and young basketball players and fans will appreciate reading about themselves. Vivid silhouetted figures against a white background portray male and female players of several races; Lucy herself is white while Ava and Coach J are black. One young player competes from a wheelchair. A half page of backmatter explains the history of basketball, the NBA and its players, and wheelchair basketball, and one entry also explains the three-on-three basketball that the children play. The book publishes in a simultaneous French edition translated by Rachel Martinez.
It’s a slam dunk . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1697-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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