Before John Was a Jazz Giant
A Song of John Coltrane
By Carole Boston Weatherford; Sean Qualls (Illustrator)
(Henry Holt and Co. (BYR), Hardcover, 9780805079944, 32pp.)
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Categories: Biography & Autobiography - Cultural Heritage, Biography & Autobiography - Music, Music - Jazz
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Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane. Before John Was a Jazz Giant is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD wrote the Caldecott Honor book Moses: When Harriet Tubman Lead Her People to Freedom. She lives in North Carolina.
SEAN QUALLS illustrated the widely acclaimed biographies The Poet Slave of Cuba and Dizzy. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.
“Weatherford’s evocative poem traces Coltrane’s influences simply and stunningly. Qualls’s muted palette of rich hues suggests the smoky jazz moods he would create.”
—School Library Journal
“Even children who are unfamiliar with jazz in general and John Coltrane in particular may find their interest piqued.”
—Horn Book
“Will echo with contemporary children, who will recognize the music in their daily lives.”
—Booklist
“This is as much a subtle invitation for children to listen to their own worlds as it is a Coltrane biography.”
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
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