A Horn for Louis (A Stepping Stone Book(TM)) - Hardcover

Kimmel, Eric A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0375832521 ISBN 13: 9780375832529

Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2005

Synopsis

Seven-year-old Louis Armstrong was too poor to buy a real horn. He didn’t even go to school. To help his mother pay the rent, Louis had a job. Every day he rode a junk wagon through the streets of New Orleans, playing his 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. . . .
A Horn for Louis is perfect for Black History Month. With messages about hard work, persistence, hope, tolerance, cooperation, trust, and friendship, it’s perfect for the rest of the year, too!

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-winning
author of the Caldecott Honor Book Hershel and the Hanukkah Goblins. He lives in Portland, Oregon.
From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Grade 2-4–Adapted from an unpublished memoir, this beginning chapter book is an account of Armstrongs youthful acquisition of his first true horn.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: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0375832521
• ISBN 13: 9780375832529
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 96