Duke Ellington by Andrea Pinkney

Andrea Pinkney’s biography, Duke Ellington, tells the story of a successful and talented jazz musician. The book won the Coretta Scott King Award and was a Caldecott Honor Book. The gorgeous illustrations by Brian Pinkney capture the jazz music scene and help put animation to the pages that fill like a jazz song with the prose and vocabulary Andrea chose to capture the story,

Edward Kennedy Ellington, “Hey, call me Duke” (Pinkney, 1998), wanted to play baseball, not attend the piano lessons his parents insisted he take. “To Duke, one-and-two wasn’t music. He called it an umpy-dump sound that was headed nowhere worth following. He quit his lessons and kissed the piano a fast good-bye” (Pinkeny, 1998) Years later, Duke heard a man playing ragtime on a piano and he was hooked. He returned to the piano starting up his basics again and started to develop his own sound and the piano became the most important thing in his life. By 19, he was playing big parties and put together his first band, The Washingtonians. It wasn’t long before The Washingtonians headed to New York City to play, finding a home in Harlem where jazz music was sought after. The band grew to 12 men and became Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, a music group comprised of some remarkably talented jazz musicians: Sonny Greer on the drums, Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton on the trombone,  Toby on the saxophone, songwriter Billy Strayhorn, and many more. Their music played on the radio, their records sold out in record stores. They celebrated African Americans and their culture. The album Black, Brown, and Beige “sang the glories of dark skin, the pride of African heritage, and the triumphs of black people, from the days of slavery to years of civil rights struggles” (Pinkney, 1998). This album earned the orchestra a trip to Carnegie Hall, one of the few African American groups to play at the prestigious hall.

Andrea Pinkney’s jaunty, rhythmic prose filled with slang is melded expertly with the colorful and whimsical oil paintings created by Brian Pinkney. Boooklist gave Duke Ellington a starred review in 1998. “Text and art work in perfect harmony here, each creating additional layers of meaning that wouldn’t have been possible without the presence of the other. And best of all, the joy in Ellington’s music, and the joy his musicians felt in playing it, is apparent on every page.”  The careful blending of prose that captures the heartbeat of jazz music and the vibrant paintings will keep readers entertained and enthralled to learn where Duke’s music and his orchestra take him.

 

Ingram (1999). “Book Review – Duke Ellington”. Retrieved on September 13, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAAKtWKk5RskpLzClO1VEqzs9XsiopKgUyC0qUrJSc8vOzlYDs4iolK0MDAyArByjqGhHiogRSDGQHhDq5hIA4BUpW0dGGOkpAtndqZXl-UQqQ5ZiXUpSaqOCSWJZZrBCQmZedl1qpFBtbCwAbVDZFdQAAAA&R=955674&dNo=79

Ingram (1999). “Digital Image – Duke Ellington”. Retrieved on September 13, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAAKtWKk5RskpLzClO1VEqzs9XsiopKgUyC0qUrJSc8vOzlYDs4iolK0MDAyArByjqGhHiogRSDGQHhDq5hIA4BUpW0dGGOkpAtndqZXl-UQqQ5ZiXUpSaqOCSWJZZrBCQmZedl1qpFBtbCwAbVDZFdQAAAA&R=955674&dNo=79

Pinkney, Adrea (1998). Duke Ellington. New York: Hyperion Books.

The Crossover by Kwame Alexander

With the last post I discussed Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes, a novel-in-verse offering for middle grade readers. Kwame Alexander, a multi-award winner author and educator, also wrote a novel-in-verse for middle grade readers. The Crossover is a fast-paced novel, the poetry set to rap and hip-hop reminiscent beat and tackles the love of basketball, family conflicts, and family issues.

Josh Bell, and his twin brother, Jordan, are talented basketball players. Their father was a young basketball star who made a cool million playing in Italy before an injury forced him to retire – but only because he refuses to go see doctors for anything since his father died of a heart attack while in a doctor’s care. Their mother is the assistant principal at their school and holds a Doctorate in education.

The boys seemed to be on a fast track to a good life – killing it on the basketball court and heading toward a championship game, doing well in school, having a blast with their friends. And then a new girl enters the school and steals Jordan away from Josh. Josh doesn’t know how to handle being alone as his twin spends all his free time with the new girlfriend.

I don’t think I’ll ever get used to

walking home from school                 alone

playing Madden                                     alone

listening to Lil Wayne                        alone

going to the library                              alone

shooting free throws                           alone

watching ESPN                                       alone

eating doughnuts                                 alone

saying my prayers                               alone (p 213)

 

Not only is Josh missing his brother, but his father is admitted to the hospital and the championship game is a few days away.

 

The Crossover is filled with fun and humor, and pain and insecurity and fear and grief. The poetic forms and the layout of some of the pages – like this one:

make the book a fast read. The characters are realistic, and their emotions are very poignant and honestly offered to anyone facing serious issues in their family and trying to navigate school despite the negative situations in their life. Kirkus Reviews said, “This novel in verse is rich in character and relationships. Most interesting is the family dynamic that informs so much of the narrative, which always reveals, never tells. While Josh relates the story, readers get a full picture of major and minor players. The basketball action provides energy and rhythm for a moving story. Poet Alexander deftly reveals the power of the format to pack an emotional punch.” (2014)

 

Alexander, Kwame (2014). The Crossover.  New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcort Publishing.

Ingram (2014). “Book Review – The Crossover”. Retrieved on September 12, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=25014332

Ingram (2014). “Digital Image – The Crossover”. Retrieved on September 12, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?ttl_id=25014332

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes

Garvey is a young man trying to find his place in his family and in the world. His father wants him to play basketball, but Garvey would rather read a book – science fiction is a big favorite – or play chess with his best friend. He hides his inadequate feelings with eating where he takes gentle teasing from his older sister – which still cuts – and bullies at school because he’s overweight. When the chance to join the school chorus comes, Garvey is afraid to try out despite how much he loves to sing, something he shares with his dad he desperately wants to love him, but sports are all his dad cares about.

Excitement beaming,

From Dad’s face, he bounces in,

palms a basketball.

“Look what I got for you, son!”

Want to go work up a sweat?”

 

Who’s he talking to?

After all these years, you’d think

he’d start to know me.

Will he ever stop trying

to make me someone I’m not? (Grimes, p18)

 

Garvey takes the dive and tries out for chorus, making the team and earning a solo, but he hides this accomplishment from his family until the day of the concert. Will the music be enough to make his dad proud of him? To love him?

 

Nikki Grimes chose to write this story in prose poetry format, using the tanka method of poetry to share Garvey’s story. The writing is simple and musical, like Garvey’s drive to be better, and the characters – Garvey, his two best friends, his family – all shine through the simple poems to feel real and relatable. Garvey’s struggle to find a place in his family – mostly with his father – and to deal with the bullies at school are poignant and will pull readers into the poetry that helps make the book a fast read.

Kirkus Review summed the book up, “Written in poignantly poetic tanka verse, Grimes’ newest follows a young black boy searching for his own unique voice, lost among his father’s wishes and society’s mischaracterizations” (2016). This statement highlights Garvey and his struggle to find the music in his heart and soul to share with those around him. Kirkus also said, “This graceful novel risks stretching beyond easy, reductive constructions of black male coming-of-age stories and delivers a sincere, authentic story of resilience and finding one’s voice” (2016).

Another prose poetry book, The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, is similar but focuses on the basketball while Garvey gets a chance to expand beyond the court onto a stage that helps him shine like a star.

Ingram (2016). [Digital Image – Garvery’s Choice]. Retrieved on September 10, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKuw5AUBCE4VeRaTQK2i2FSqMgkZwohOMSkpWzLkG8u9V9_2QeSAfqm0VsAGEGbW5XrhsIMfMMtdygKAxVi65pVST4z-q8jJPijxVkTBRAndnrZNephsYd9vLFa0eeWou6fj90yFwjcAAAAA&R=44691568&dNo=1

 

Grimes, Nikki (2016). Garvey’s Choice. Pennsylvania: WordSong

Kirkus (2016). “Book Review – Garvey’s Choice”. Retrieved on September 10, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKuw5AUBCE4VeRaTQK2i2FSqMgkZwohOMSkpWzLkG8u9V9_2QeSAfqm0VsAGEGbW5XrhsIMfMMtdygKAxVi65pVST4z-q8jJPijxVkTBRAndnrZNephsYd9vLFa0eeWou6fj90yFwjcAAAAA&R=44691568&dNo=1

The Way Home in the Night by Akiko Miyakoshi

 

The Way Home in the Night by Akiko Miyakoshi is a beautifully illustrated book about a young bunny being carried home by his mother at night. He is fascinated by the nightly rituals of the neighborhood – the book store carrying in displays, a woman taking on a phone in her window, the smell of a pie baking, a couple saying goodbye. His father meets them near their home and he takes the young bunny upstairs to put him to sleep. Though being lulled to sleep by the wonderful scents and the comfort and warmth of his home, the bunny thinks about all that he saw and can’t stop wondering what his neighbors are doing. Did the party end? Is the pie ready? Is the woman ready to board her train?

The story is simple, filled with the wonder of a young child exploring the world that surrounds him. The wonder and the sensual details that fill the pages help make the story and its setting real, something that kids and parents can both understand. The illustrations done in pencil sketches and charcoal with the warm glow of light from the windows and doors the mother and son pass make the setting tangible and honest. Each window gives a glimpse to the lives of those in the neighborhood as they get ready for the night, and each illustration is beautifully rendered and simple, like the story.

Kirkus reviews staid, “A mostly monochromatic palette highlights the warmth of the bunny’s home and the evening lights, and Miyakoshi’s use of singular images creates a calming pace. Originally published in Japan, this reflective, dreamy tale with its timeless art is a must for the bedtime shelf” (Kirkus Reviews, 2017).

 

Miyakoshi, Akika (2015). The Way Home in the Night. Toronto: Kids Can Press.

Kirkus Reviews (2017). “Book Review – The Way Home in the Night”. Retrieved on September 5, 2018 from  https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKuw5AQBCF4VeRUytop3TpFSQSUawgNouRnVUg3t3ovv_kPJARNJtVphjCDAr-VB4BhIzZQS03KE0S1apr2dYF_rO6arKi_uMAdV0aQ53zHrwdzsBeyzjrONrsZRzLYtH37we1gGJPdAAAAA&R=47958297&dNo=0

Kirkus Reviews (2017). [Digital Image– The Way Home in the Night]. Retrieved on September 5, 2018 from  https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKuw5AQBCF4VeRUytop3TpFSQSUawgNouRnVUg3t3ovv_kPJARNJtVphjCDAr-VB4BhIzZQS03KE0S1apr2dYF_rO6arKi_uMAdV0aQ53zHrwdzsBeyzjrONrsZRzLYtH37we1gGJPdAAAAA&R=47958297&dNo=0

Koala Lou by Mem Fox

Koala Lou is a young koala with a big family. When she was young, her favorite thing was when her mother would hug her and say, “Koala Lou, I DO love you” (Fox, p4). As her mother had more babies, this simple gesture of love became less frequent and Koala Lou missed it terribly. When the Bush Olympics were announced, Koala Lou decided she would race in the gum tree climbing event and win. Surely her mother would tell her the simple phrase Lou was missing so much. So, she trained and she prepared herself for the climb against Koala Klaws, one of the fastest climbers in the jungle. After the competition when Koala Lou got home, her mother hugged her tight and said, “Koala Lou, I DO love you! I always have, and I always will” (Fox, p25).

The book is filled with interesting animals like the koalas at the center. A kookaburra acts as the Olympics announcer, and Koala Lou is loved by the emu and the platypus. Though many of the animals indigenous to Australia are not mentioned, pictures of them grace many of the pages to offer a visual representation of the diverse animals that surround Koala Lou.  Illustrator Pamela Lofts offered fun and beautiful pictures of the varying animals and Koala Lou and her family. The illustrations help cement the setting of Australia and the Bush Olympics for children and they help highlight the stress Koala Lou’s mom lives in while raising so many little ones and how sad and determined Lou herself is to fit the story’s narrative.

The struggle being the oldest child is very aptly detailed. Koala Lou sees how busy her mother is, but still, she misses getting that hug and hearing that one phrase that made her feel so loved and secure when she was little. This loss of connection to parents can happen life and other children get in the way and the need for Lou to prove herself, to stand out for her mother, is something real that can happen. Lou’s mother never stopped loving her and showed her in other ways, such as checking on Lou while she was training for the gum tree climb. In the end, she gives Lou the phrase and hug she needed, and made sure her daughter knew that she never stopped loving her and never would.

The richness of the characters, the believable story and emotions, and the beautiful and expressive illustrations make this a wonderful book to add to a children’s collection. School Library Journal said, “Koala Lois is appealing and truly believable … Fox brings out the best in her characters, and also conveys an important message about competition” (Children’s Literature Review, 2014).

 

Fox, Mem (1988). Koala Lou. New York: Scholastic.

Children’s Literature Review (2014). “Book Review – Koala Lou”. Retrieved on September 5, 2018 from https://allaboutchildrenslit.wordpress.com/2014/09/04/koala-lou-by-mem-fox/

Ingram (1988). [Digital Image – Koala Lou]. Retrieved on September 5, 2018 from https://ipage.ingramcontent.com/ipage/servlet/ibg.common.titledetail.pd1000?queryString=H4sIAAAAAAAAABXKMQqAMBBE0avI1Bam3VK0srGIIIhIwAiShRUTERXv7tq9P8yDOIMWx9HniCKgtB_KLYFQigSo4w0yRaFiXeveVvjP6rYrK_vHBhoGk0Pd-OuUfZ7smthrB3HsMpYD4_h-GC5HXXAAAAA&R=53292&dNo=0

 

Shadows of Ghadames by Joelle Stolz

Malika lives in the city of Ghadames in Libya at the turn of the nineteenth-century. Being a child, she is not restricted to the same limitations as the other women in town, but as she nears the end of her twelfth year, the limitations of her religion and society are beginning to bear down on her. She longs to travel with her father through the Sahara, to see the distant cities and villages, and to learn to read as her brother can do.

Life takes an unexpected turn when a young man is injured and Malika’s mother, Meriem, and her father’s second wife, Bilkisu, bring him into their home to help nurse him back to health. This is not allowed in their culture, something that with the father gone, could lead to terrible consequences for both the women of the house. They ban Malika’s brother, Jasim, from the rooftops which is considered the women’s domain. This decision is based on his nearing manhood so he must go to the street domain of the men and to keep him from discovering the young man, Abdelkarim, they are hiding.

Malika is drawn to the breach of society that her mother exhibits, a woman that clings to tradition. Meriem made the decision that Malika could not learn to read though her father, Mahmud, encouraged the practice. The two wives also begin to introduce Malika to the secrets of the women’s world – their rooftop markets, the way they help each other that men know nothing about, their secret rituals and gatherings that the guards of the town chose to ignore. Meriem also allows Abdelkarim to teach Malika to read, his one request. She agrees because she can see the effect Malika has had on Abdelkarim, a man that has stricter and more radical religion views than their own. His interactions with Malika are opening his eyes to how the women work and what they can offer their society.

Meeting Abdelkarim and being allowed to see the way the women’s society works helps Malika find a place in her society. Though she still wants to see and do more, she has learned that women have their own culture underneath the tradition that grants them a bit more freedom than she previously thought. Her future life no longer seems quite as confining, but her heart still yearns for more and so she reads and uses the telescope her father brings her from Instanbul to look out at the stars and the desert.

Reviews on this Batchelder Award winning book are mixed. Kirkus reviews stated, “Setting her tale at the end of the 19th century, Stolz not only weaves the sights, sounds, and daily rhythms of life in Ghadames into a vivid tapestry, she creates a cast of distinct characters, each of which displays a unique blend of strengths and weaknesses, as well as sometimes unexpected intelligence and compassion.” (2004). Common Sense Media, however, felt that modern beliefs were placed on the women – Malika’s wish to be free and to read, Bilkisu breaking law and tradition to save and hide Adbelkarim from the men in town that want him gone. CSM also felt that the characters and plot were “uneven” (2005). Common Sense Media also felt “But the author puts into the minds and mouths of the characters ideas from Western culture that don’t belong there: that women should have more freedom, that their lives are unfair, that their culture and religion are wrong-headed. At a time when building understanding between cultures is more important than ever, encouraging young readers to judge another culture by the standards of their own doesn’t seem very helpful.” (2005)

The world-building Stolz brings is lovely and dynamic. There is a strong view of the town, the way it is run, and the homes and interactions in a traditional, complicated society. Though CSM felt that Western ideals were dabbed into the characters, the yearning for freedom and the desire to learn more is something I felt some women, like young Malika, would desire. The super traditional Meriem and the more forward-thinking Bilkisu are opposite bookends that show the differences in the women in the town. Having the traditional and the more open-minded influences will guide Malika to discovering how and who she wants to be. Though I can’t speak about the religion and the cultural aspects with any true knowledge, the book offers a glimpse into the lives of women in a society that many in countries like the United States do not understand. Stolz offers a fictional story steeped in the reality of the town and the traditions. From her time in Ghadames, she stays “I am greatly indebted to the people who guided me around the labyrinth of the old alleyways, opened their houses to me, and described their childhoods on the rooftops” (1999, p119).

Common Sense Media (2005). “Book Review – The Shadows of Ghadames”. Retrieved on September 2, 2018 from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-shadows-of-ghadames

Kirkus Review (2004). “Book Review – Shadows of Ghadames”. Retrieved on September 2, 2018 from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joelle-stolz/the-shadows-of-ghadames/

Stolz, Joelle (1999). The Shadows of Ghadames. New York: Delacorte Press.