Part children’s book, part poetry collection, this alphabetized introduction to jazz artists is a must for all parents who value artistic learning! The author and illustrator picked 26 major figures in jazz and then provided a poem and portrait of each one. The combination creates a beautiful effect, a book that flows just like jazz itself, through the history of the musical movement.

The poetic book combines dozens of different writing styles. At the end there are biographies of each jazz artist and a page recommending albums from each performer. There’s also a section describing the various poetic styles used throughout the text (ode, haiku, calligram, sonnet, free verse, etc.) This gives kids a chance to learn about jazz and poetry at the same time. What an excellent pairing!

“A songwriter, a sonneteer, a sorcerer of sorghum sonatas, so sweetly sung.”

“My bass drum can blacken a big man’s eyes and injure a hero’s pride.” ( )

I think that I found this book off the ABC books list yet it is not a book that fits my idea of a book to teach the alphabet. It is an interesting book to bring about info about some great Jazz artists and about a lot of people I never heard of. It is written in a way that does display each letter one at a time but this book is more about the jazz artists than the alphabet.

This an an alphabet books that introduces jazz artists through the ages. Not only do the artists names start with the letter but there is an adjoining poem with use of that alphabet. For Louis Armstrong it says, "Absolute architect of the jazz age" and "Armstrong's amazing artistry astonishes audiences of all ages". The illustrations are done in muted block colors and shapes.
This would be a great book to introduce the alphabet, music, and poetry. This is somewhat silly in it's wording but can showcase an interesting use of language and the alphabet. This is a great collection of names and poetry. Made for the older set this is a great introduction to new vocabulary. The book ends with biographies of all the great artists. ( )