| 9781629790992 |
| 1629790990 |
Available:*
Library | Material Type | Call Number | Shelf Location | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... Library 21c | Children's Book | 780.92 GERS SLAD | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Searching... Rockrimmon Library | Children's Book | 780.92 GERS SLAD | Children's-J-Biography | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
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Summary
Summary
Junior Library Guild Selection
Booklist Editors' Top 10 Arts Books for Youth
California Reading Association Eureka! Gold Award
CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young Readers
Parents' Choice Gold Award
Paterson Prize for Books for Young Readers
Bank Street College of Education Best Book of the Year
Golden Kite Award for Picture Book Illustration
Meet the famous composer George Gershwin and learn about his remarkabke composition "Rhapsody In Blue" in this engaging nonficftion picture book biography.
George Gershwin heard music all the time--at home, at school, even on New York City's busy streets. Classical, ragtime, blues, and jazz--George's head was filled with a whole lot of razzmatazz! With rhythmic swirls of words and pictures, author Suzanne Slade and illustrator Stacy Innerst beautifully reveal just how brilliantly Gershwin combined various kinds of music to create his masterpiece, Rhapsody in Blue , a surprising and whirlwind composition of notes, sounds, and one long wail of a clarinet. Includes author's note, timeline, and bibliography.
Author Notes
Suzanne Slade is the award-winning author of dozens of children's nonfiction books, including The Inventor's Secret , Friends for Freedom , and The House That George Built . She lives in Libertyville, Illinois, with her husband, two children, and adorable dog, Corduroy. suzanneslade.com
Stacy Innerst is an artist and the illustrator of numerous picture books for children, including Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation by Peggy Thomas and M Is for Music by Kathleen Krull, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. He lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. stacyinnerst.com
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-Slade teams up with Innerst for this pleasant picture book biography of composer George Gershwin, with a focus on Gershwin's introduction to music as a child and the various influences that led to his unique musical style. The culmination of the story is the creation and performance of his grand composition Rhapsody in Blue, in 1924. Innerst's acrylic spreads are almost entirely done in blue and gray tones, with broad brushstrokes, scanned textiles, and paper adding texture; each scene is striking. Slade's narrative is highly readable and lightly peppered with musical onomatopoeia. She vividly describes the sounds of New York City and the "rattle-ty bang" of the railroad train that inspired Gershwin to write his famed piece. Rather than offering an overview of his relatively short life, Slade provides a deeper look into his creative process and the ways in which he melded classical, ragtime, jazz, and blues to create a sound purely his own. Key phrases inked in script among the typed words weave the illustrations and text together. Terms such as staccato are defined by their very placement and spacing on the page. A detailed author's note, time line, and bibliography add further depth to this well-researched work. VERDICT Readers will get a glimpse into Gershwin's mind and find the music within. Highly recommended for purchase.-Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Through evocative storytelling, expressive hand-lettered text, and dynamic paintings, Slade (The Inventor's Secret) and Innerst (Thomas Jefferson Grows a Nation) explore the making of Gershwin's acclaimed "Rhapsody in Blue" in an account that's as "lively, fun, and different" as the works the composer wrote. Slade describes how music captivated George from an early age, spending hours at the family piano, sneaking into concert halls to hear famous pianists, and selling his first song at age 17. Fittingly, Innerst uses swathes of indigo blue paint in images that seem to sway with the music George heard around him. Even the typography gets in on the action, changing colors, switching to cursive, or blaring words in capital letters to reflect the musical influences Gershwin drew on. "The notes were restless, untamed. The rhythms were wild. Unpredictable," writes Slade as the e at the end of unpredictable launches itself into the air, as if to prove the point. An afterword and timeline round out a rousing look at one of the defining contributions to the Great American Songbook. Ages 9-11. Author's agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator's agent: Susan Cohen, Writers House. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* One of American music's masterpieces, Rhapsody in Blue, is introduced here, along with its composer, George Gershwin. George, growing up in turn-of-the-century New York, hears music in the clackety-clack of trains and the noise of crowded city streets. He listens for hours to the tunes pouring from supper clubs and dives in nearby Harlem. After his family gets a piano, he begins mingling what he hears with the classical music he loves. The result? Jazzy popular tunes. When bandleader Paul Whiteman plans a concert An Experiment in Modern Music to introduce a wider audience to jazz, Gershwin is on the bill, and all the rattles and rhythms he loves turn into a concerto, first in his head, then on paper. Slade and Innerst work beautifully together to create a book that builds to a crescendo, just as Rhapsody does. The swirling text wraps around the inventive (and mostly blue) art, both literally and figuratively, capturing the time period as well as the dazzling musical piece. Purists may note that the clarinetist at the concert is black, though in reality a white man played; Innerst notes in the back matter that the orchestra is an amalgamation of Gershwin's musical influences. This is a fitting celebration of a musical milestone keep a copy of the song cued up for curious listeners.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2016 Booklist
