Before John Was a Jazz Giant

A Song of John Coltrane

Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrations by Sean Qualls

Henry Holt and Co.

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Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930s: preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John’s own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly  rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.
 
Before John Was a Jazz Giant is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

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Reviews

Praise for Before John Was a Jazz Giant

“Weatherford’s evocative poem traces Coltrane’s influences simply and stunningly. Qualls’s muted palette of rich hues suggests the smoky jazz moods he would create.”

—School Library Journal

 

“Even children who are unfamiliar with jazz in general and John Coltrane in particular may find their interest piqued.”

—Horn Book

 

“Will echo with contemporary children, who will recognize the music in their daily lives.”

—Booklist

 

“This is as much a subtle invitation for children to listen to their own worlds as it is a Coltrane biography.”

—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

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About the Author

Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrations by Sean Qualls

CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD wrote the Caldecott Honor book Moses: When Harriet Tubman Lead Her People to Freedom. She lives in North Carolina.

SEAN QUALLS illustrated the widely acclaimed biographies The Poet Slave of Cuba and Dizzy. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.

 

Carole Boston Weatherford
Sean Qualls

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Reading Guide

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Before John Was a Jazz Giant
A Song of John Coltrane
Carole Boston Weatherford; illustrations by Sean Qualls
Award

American Library Association Notable Children's Books, Coretta Scott King Honor, Illustrator, Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year, CCBC Choice (Univ. of WI), Golden Kite Honor Book, NCSS-CBC Notable Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, CPL: Chicago Public Library Best of the Best, GA Picture Storybook Award ML, Michigan Great Lakes Great Books Award Master List

Hardcover

Hardcover
Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Henry Holt and Co.
April 2008
Hardcover
ISBN: 9780805079944
ISBN10: 0805079947
Picture Book Nonfiction
8 x 10 inches, 32 pages, Full-color illustrations throughout
Age Range: 5 to 9
Grade Range: k to 4 Information for Librarians

Information for Librarians


Lexile: AD1090LL
AR Quiz Number: 44902 EN
AR Book Level: 3.4
AR Points: 0.5

$16.95
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Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

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