DANTÉ PLAYS HIS BLUES

Danté and his mother are forced to leave their home and stay with Uncle Ron until they get back on their feet.

Danté recognizes that Mama’s heart is as broken as his own when they’re displaced from their beloved neighborhood, Luna Park, with its city pool and all Danté’s friends. At their new home, Dante’s uncles and older cousin greet them with open arms, big smiles, and welcome signs, but it’s the sight of Uncle Joe playing his guitar and Uncle Ron blowing his saxophone that distracts Danté from his pain. As Uncle Ron teaches Danté to play the sax, the boy opens up about what’s bringing him down, and Uncle Ron offers some words of wisdom: “Turn yo’ blues into yo’ muse.” Danté practices playing his sax (named Luna after his old neighborhood) all summer, and as the book closes, he performs onstage. “It isn’t perfect,” he admits, but he keeps going—a thoughtful metaphor for his own experiences. Sometimes, Wells suggests, that’s all we can do. The mixed-media illustrations, which incorporate textured papers and sheet music, make for a lively and cathartic journey through hardship and the challenges of learning to make music. Knight-Justice uses deeply saturated hues of blue to depict the sounds filling the room as Danté plays; she portrays this loving Black family and community with varying shades of brown. The result is an authentic introduction to the blues and the music’s cultural legacy.

A resonant tale of a boy dealing with change in his own way.