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trkravtin's review against another edition
Wow, wow, wow! This book is a catalyst for an immersion in creative studies for anyone at any age. I was literally STUNNED when I first read this book. Everything about it pushes the boundaries of expectations for a picture book. The production choices of a magnetic clip closure, the accordian pages, the trim size, the paper quality … oh, my! I LOVE it.
I get excited just thinking about it. I am a musician, and so is my husband. He is a jazz drummer, and as soon as I finished reading the book, I took it to him, held out in reverance with my arms extended and I said, “Look at this book and tell me what you think.”
NEVER have I seen music (and bebop to boot) conveyed so visually appropriate. I was drawn into the book by all of the aforementioned choices, but the ART. The art is spectacular. The black cover background reminds me of blackboard and the art looks like chalk and crayons. The rich terracotta backgound color of the paper, perfectly texturizes the pastels, goauche, and sumi ink. Young exuberantly fills the landscape with rich swirls of color and line and creates a flow, thanks to the accordian pages, that takes the reader on a continous journey from the opening of the book to the last image. The flow is similar to a tune. My eyes wandered around the pages, as if the music was playing, as I opened each fold, turned the sheet of images over to unfold them again, all the while my eyes playfully taking in the art, rather than my ears hearing the music.
I know you are probably thinking, but this is a book about two specialized musicians, playing an even more nuanced music style. It’s bebop for heaven’s sakes. Who cares about bebop? It’s not even universally popular among musicians.
Thankfully, Gary Golio and Ed Young showed no fear with this nuanced genre of music, and the fact that not everyone will know these giants of jazz.
Whether you are a fan of jazz, it really matters not. Allow yourself to experience the collaborative joy of creativity as expressed by this author, illustrator duo, about two creative giants in music. This is how creativity of any kind works. It’s joyful, spontaneous, skilled, personal, and energizing. This is an electric reading experience for me.
I get excited just thinking about it. I am a musician, and so is my husband. He is a jazz drummer, and as soon as I finished reading the book, I took it to him, held out in reverance with my arms extended and I said, “Look at this book and tell me what you think.”
NEVER have I seen music (and bebop to boot) conveyed so visually appropriate. I was drawn into the book by all of the aforementioned choices, but the ART. The art is spectacular. The black cover background reminds me of blackboard and the art looks like chalk and crayons. The rich terracotta backgound color of the paper, perfectly texturizes the pastels, goauche, and sumi ink. Young exuberantly fills the landscape with rich swirls of color and line and creates a flow, thanks to the accordian pages, that takes the reader on a continous journey from the opening of the book to the last image. The flow is similar to a tune. My eyes wandered around the pages, as if the music was playing, as I opened each fold, turned the sheet of images over to unfold them again, all the while my eyes playfully taking in the art, rather than my ears hearing the music.
I know you are probably thinking, but this is a book about two specialized musicians, playing an even more nuanced music style. It’s bebop for heaven’s sakes. Who cares about bebop? It’s not even universally popular among musicians.
Thankfully, Gary Golio and Ed Young showed no fear with this nuanced genre of music, and the fact that not everyone will know these giants of jazz.
Whether you are a fan of jazz, it really matters not. Allow yourself to experience the collaborative joy of creativity as expressed by this author, illustrator duo, about two creative giants in music. This is how creativity of any kind works. It’s joyful, spontaneous, skilled, personal, and energizing. This is an electric reading experience for me.
marybids's review against another edition
5.0
This book uses chalk illustrations to show the scattered beauty behind the creation of bebop music. Perfect for the brass instrumentalist in everyone's life.
beths0103's review against another edition
4.0
A book that is likely to interest more adults than kids but in the hands of a passionate, knowledgeable adult, it could get an already musically inclined kid passionate about jazz.
djlanatron's review against another edition
4.0
Although I feel like kids would kind of tear this book up, I appreciate the creativity and wish more folks pushed the boundary of picture books. This would be a great book for a music or writing class, where you could play the music and get kids experimenting. Not as sure it would be successful as a solo venture for kids.
pwbalto's review against another edition
5.0
It is impossible for me to articulate my admiration for this book without using profanity. If I could play the trumpet or the saxophone I might be able to do it. But just typing? Forget it. Ed Young puts it all on the page in order to visualize a glorious improvisational jazz duet.
libraryrobin's review against another edition
3.0
I like it, especially when read aloud with their music playing. This format may be too unwieldy for children and this may be better in a professional collection.
fernandie's review against another edition
4.0
I think kids will be fascinated with the format of this picture book. It's an accordion or concertina fold book, so all the pages are attached. As a result, you can read the book more traditionally, page by page, or you can read it as one long extending page. The illustrations are basically one continuous illustration running from one page onto the next.
The art style is really loose and colorful and evokes a circus, especially on the page that likens the two musicians to jugglers. It's perfectly on theme for the song that Bird & Diz are playing in the book.
This would be fun for a storytime read-aloud if you had a stand, easel, or table you could prop the book on as the pages unfold. (Or you could recruit a helper.) Because the pages can be unfolded to show half the book at one time, it's a book that provides opportunity for more kids to gather round and all stare at the pictures at the same time.
The art style is really loose and colorful and evokes a circus, especially on the page that likens the two musicians to jugglers. It's perfectly on theme for the song that Bird & Diz are playing in the book.
This would be fun for a storytime read-aloud if you had a stand, easel, or table you could prop the book on as the pages unfold. (Or you could recruit a helper.) Because the pages can be unfolded to show half the book at one time, it's a book that provides opportunity for more kids to gather round and all stare at the pictures at the same time.
nerfherder86's review against another edition
5.0
What an energetic, beautiful picture book! Gives the feel of bebop music in colorful pastel illustrations by the master Ed Young. The simple, lyrical text describes what it was like to see Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie "Bird" Parker performing together in concert, working in tandem and creating wonderful improvisations off each other. The illustrations show as best you can in images what jazz bebop looks and feels like to hear, and they're connected visually as well as physically--the vibrant swirls of notes and faces and instruments continue on sheets of paper linked together in one long horizontal strip (and the cover has a magnetic clasp to keep the pages in). An afterword on the end paper gives more information about bebop and Bird and Diz, and lists a couple of sources for listening to their work. Not a biography, as it doesn't tell you much about their lives, but a wonderful music-themed picture book to use with young children.
corncobwebs's review against another edition
Popularity/appeal rating: 3.5
Quality rating: 5
In a one-sentence nutshell:
Definite Caldecott contender! The illustrations are full of color and movement - if you could see music, this is what it would look like. The book design is really cool, too - the pages are all connected, and if you unfold them, you see that the pictures are all part of one large illustration. I want to listen to Bird & Diz's music now, which proves that the book was effective!
Quality rating: 5
In a one-sentence nutshell:
Definite Caldecott contender! The illustrations are full of color and movement - if you could see music, this is what it would look like. The book design is really cool, too - the pages are all connected, and if you unfold them, you see that the pictures are all part of one large illustration. I want to listen to Bird & Diz's music now, which proves that the book was effective!
wordnerd153's review against another edition
2.0
I appreciated the unique presentation more than the content. The text mimics the flow of jazz well. Could be a good book to use in an elementary music class.