A Horn for Louis: Louis Armstrong--as a kid! (A Stepping Stone Book) - Softcover

Kimmel, Eric A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0375840052 ISBN 13: 9780375840050

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2006

Synopsis

How did famous New Orleans jazz trumpet player Louis Armstrong get his first horn?
 
Seven-year-old Louis Armstrong was too poor to buy a real instrument. He didn’t even go to school. To help his mother pay the rent, every day he rode a junk wagon through the streets of New Orleans, playing a tin horn and collecting stuff people didn’t want. Then one day, the junk wagon passed a pawn shop with a gleaming brass trumpet in the window. . . .
 
With messages about hard work, persistence, hope, tolerance, cooperation, trust, and friendship, A Horn for Louis is perfect for aspiring young musicians and nonfiction fans alike!
 
History Stepping Stones now feature updated content that emphasizes Common Core and today’s renewed interest in nonfiction. Perfect for home, school, and library bookshelves!

About this title

About the Author

Eric Kimmel grew up in Brooklyn, New York, loving the music of Louis Armstrong, who lived a few miles away in Queens. He is the award-winningauthor of the Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4–Adapted from an unpublished memoir, this beginning chapter book is an account of Armstrongs youthful acquisition of his first true horn. It also offers a snapshot of New Orleanss Brick Row at the turn of the 20th century that reveals the hardship yet intimate connection of its residents. Streets and neighborhoods come to life with the sights and sounds of the citys multiethnic communities. Young Louis lived in a rooming house with his mother and sister and dreamed of a bedroom of his own, with a real bed instead of quilts on the floor, and he helped to support the family. His musical gifts became apparent early on to those on the streets as he revealed a talent beyond the capabilities of a seven-year-old playing a tin horn without a mouthpiece. Kimmels skilled narrative accentuates the diversity of the boys surroundings and the early influence of local music upon his innate gift. Bernardins dynamic black-and-white artwork captures the vivacious subject well and includes many period and cultural details. This biographical slice-of-life reveals much about the background of this famed musician. Simple sentence structure provides encouragement for fledgling readers and makes this an entertaining addition for most collections.–Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX
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About this edition

• Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0375840052
• ISBN 13: 9780375840050
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96