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School Library Journal
Reviewed on October 1, 2006
Gr 3-8 Through a powerful marriage of rhythmic text and hip and surprising illustrations, the unorthodox creator of Bebop comes to life. Beaten regularly by his father, the young Gillespie found escape in a trumpet given to him by his music teacher. For the boy with the horn/fueled with a FIRE/that burned with every whooping, /JAZZ was like a "fire extinguisher"./It was cooooooool. He went on to become a crowd-pleasing performer, loving jazz beca...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
Horn Book Magazine
Reviewed on November 1, 2006
Young John (later Dizzy) Gillespie was a cutup and attention seeker who was fired from several bands because of his lack of seriousness. But his sense of play and hot-dog musicianship allowed him to become one of the innovators of be-bop as well as a great jazz trumpeter and singer. Winters (author of Frida, rev. 3/02) uses rhyme, repeated text, and unexpected line breaks to reflect Dizzy's musical style. Most of the time this work...Log In or Sign Up to Read More
