The Blues Singers: Ten Who Rocked the World - Hardcover

Lester, Julius

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786804637 ISBN 13: 9780786804634

Publisher: Jump At The Sun, 2001

Synopsis

The blues. It's that low-down feeling that makes you ache from your soul to the soles of your shoes. Here in the voice of a grandfather passing on a legacy to a younger generation, renowned author Julius Lester introduces ten of the hottest black blues singers of our time. The diva Aretha Franklin, the legendary Billie Holiday, and the fabulous B.B. King are just a taste of what's in store.

About this title

About the Author

Julius Lester's books for adults and children have garnered many awards. His To Be a Slave was a Newbery Honor Book and John Henry received the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Mr. Lester lives in western Massachusetts.

Lisa Cohen is the illustrator of Little Lil and the Swing-Swinging Sax. Ms. Cohen resides in New Orleans with her husband and daughter.

Reviews

Gr 3 Up-An introduction to some of the most influential blues singers of the past century. Writing from the perspective of a grandparent talking to his granddaughter, Lester clearly loves the music. He conveys what it does-"-cures the blues"-and why it is important-"-if it wasn't for the blues, we probably wouldn't have anything to listen to except our toenails growing." The conversational but poetic storytelling voice hits just the right note. In the three pages devoted to each subject, the author relates anecdotes of personal encounters with the performers and stories told to him by his grandparents, and gives explanations about times gone by to help readers understand the context of each person's life. What is remarkable is that despite the limitations of the format, Lester is able to provide significant details about these singers that convey who they were and their influence. The piece about Ray Charles in particular captures the essence of this man's life better than some of the full-length biographies available. The volume is illustrated with full-page stylized portraits in bold, flat colors. Large-print quotes in a variety of pastels and typefaces add to the appealing overall design. A brief bibliography and list of CDs are also included. An essential purchase.

Tim Wadham, Maricopa County Library District, Phoenix, AZ

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Lester's (When Dad Killed Mom, reviewed below) picture-book tribute to the blues an art form in which "the music and the beat wrap around your heart like one of your grandmother's hugs" and some of its greatest performers, hits all the right notes. Framed as a summertime storytelling session between grandfather and granddaughter, the narrative invites readers to picture the pair rocking on a front porch sipping lemonade. Lester profiles 10 blues, or blues-inspired, legends including Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Billie Holiday as well as Mahalia Jackson who was widely considered a gospel singer but was influenced by and certainly influenced other blues singers and Little Richard, who grew out of a blues background to invent rock 'n' roll. Each mini-biography contains factual information about the artist's singing/playing style as well as the author's personal connection to the singer/musician (e.g., "When I was a teenager, I was attending a meeting in Chicago with my church youth group. Mahalia came to our meeting and sang a few songs"). Lester's anecdotal approach, his leisurely pacing and abundance of colorful, down-home similes give the famous figures a tangible presence and make for a music history lesson that goes down as smooth as honey. The book's arresting design features large, boldly hued pull-quotes scattered throughout the text, as well as comments from various artists. Cohen's (Little Lil and the Swing-Singing Sax) chunky, stylized portraits of each singer capture some of the performers' signature looks, but young readers may want to seek out photographs for a different perspective. A bibliography and "Recommended Listening" list suggest opportunities for further exploration of this American music genre. Ages 5-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 5-8. "The words of a blues song might be sad, but the music and the beat wrap around your heart like one of your grandmother's hugs," writes Lester, whose enjoyment of blues music stretches back many years. Here, writing in a casual style meant to sound as if he were speaking to his granddaughter, Lester profiles 10 black artists who sang the blues or, presumably, made music influenced by the blues. The profiles are readable, the best being those that include Lester's own experiences and personal reactions and they avoid the sensational--for example, the mystery surrounding Robert Johnson's death is relayed without dwelling on exotic speculation. Illustrator Cohen's art is dynamic, and its intensity makes this a good-looking book. But there are problems, too. The picture-book format may not draw older middle-graders, and the relationship between gospel, blues, jazz, and soul isn't explained well enough for untutored kids. Nor is it always immediately clear why a book about blues singers includes rock "wild man" Little Richard and "Godfather of Soul" James Brown, who doesn't even "consider himself a rock and roll or blues singer." A more concrete sense of the blues would have given kids a better foundation to explore its connection with related types of music, but this does introduce some great singers, and the solid bibliography (mostly adult books) and discography will lead interested kids on to more. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Jump At The Sun
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0786804637
• ISBN 13: 9780786804634
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Cohen Lisa
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 48