Sweet Music in Harlem - Hardcover

Debbie A. Taylor

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1584301651 ISBN 13: 9781584301653

Publisher: Lee & Low Books, 2004

Synopsis

It’s a special day in 1950s Harlem, and C. J., an aspiring young jazz musician, is excited. His trumpet-playing Uncle Click is getting ready to be photographed by Highnote magazine. When Uncle Click can’t find his signature black beret, C. J. volunteers to retrace his uncle’s steps from the previous day to find the hat.

As C. J. races to Uncle Click’s favorite hangouts—from Garlic’s Barbershop to the Midnight Melody Club—a buzz about the photo shoot begins to stir in the Harlem air. C. J. returns home without the hat, but news of the photo has spread like wildfire. Soon all the best jazz musicians in the neighborhood have shown up at Uncle Click’s front door for a photo shoot of historic proportions.

Sweet Music in Harlem captures the energy and excitement of a magical time in Harlem’s jazz history, highlighting the dynamic friendship of a close-knit community.

About this title

About the Author:

DEBBIE A. TAYLOR is a first-time picture book author with a master’s degree in creative writing. She works at the University of Michigan and has had several stories published in children’s literary magazines including Spider, Cricket, and New Moon. Taylor and her family live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

FRANK MORRISON, an established fine artist, makes his picture book debut with Sweet Music in Harlem. As a teenager, Morrison experimented with art in the form of graffiti before developing his unique fine art style. The themes he most explores in his dynamic works are music, family, and spirituality. Morrison lives with his family in Somerset, New Jersey.

From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3–When a famous–but forgetful–Harlem jazz musician finds out he's having his picture taken for a magazine, he sends his nephew on a wild chase through the neighborhood looking for his hat. C. J. hurries from the barbershop to the diner to the jazz club, but at each location he finds, instead of Uncle Click's beret, some other article that the man has left behind. The boy also returns with a crowd of people who are all anxious to be in the picture, too. When the photographer arrives, he finds a colorful group of jazz greats assembled on the brownstone steps. That night, Uncle Click presents C. J. with an early birthday present, a brand new clarinet that puts a sparkle in the aspiring young musician's eye, with the missing hat inside the box. This dazzling tale is filled with energy, rhythm, and style from its attention-grabbing cover to its satisfying ending. An author's note explains that an actual photograph of 57 jazz musicians taken in 1958 inspired the story; the photo is reproduced and all of the artists in it are identified. The acrylic illustrations make the text come alive. Elongated figures stretch, stride, and dance along pages filled with colorful scenes of Harlem. The characters' passion for jazz is echoed on their expressive faces and in their graceful postures, and Uncle Click's affection for his nephew shines through. A wonderful ode to the power of music and of family love.–Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY
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About this edition

• Publisher: Lee & Low Books
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1584301651
• ISBN 13: 9781584301653
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Frank Morrison