In nine chronologically arranged sections, with scores of cultural and biographical thumbnails, this encyclopedic look stretches from jazz’s roots in African rhythms to the eclecticism of the contemporary scene.
After establishing a working definition of rhythm, Asim addresses the significance of Congo Square in New Orleans, where enslaved and free Black people congregated on Sundays to dance and make music. There, Cuban, Mexican, French, and local Indigenous musical traditions mingled, setting the stage for regional and global influences to impact jazz. Not unlike jazz’s improvisations, Asim’s narrative nuggets beget each other as players learn from masters like Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, and Count Basie and form their own bands. The Great Migration from the South brings musicians to Chicago, Kansas City, and New York’s Harlem. Cross-pollination—from West Coast to East; from the United States to Europe and back—fertilizes entire scenes. Modern makers mix jazz and hip-hop, sampling midcentury bebop and ’70s fusion in a music defined by innovation. Readers can access audio recordings of instruments and musical styles by scanning QR codes interspersed throughout, and suggestions for significant songs, albums, and performances to seek out appear in the biographical sketches. Polk’s stylized, captioned illustrations deliver fine likenesses of musicians, with attention to variations in Black and brown skin tones. Notably, Asim avoids the role of substance abuse in the lives of many musicians.
Both anecdotal and encompassing, this attentive introduction ably prepares readers for further learning—and listening. (jazz museums and places of interest, index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-7624-7941-2
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Categories: CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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A memoir of the first 14 years in the life of Australian Robert Hoge, born with stunted legs and a tumor in the middle of his face.
In 1972, Robert is born, the youngest of five children, with fishlike eyes on the sides of his face, a massive lump in place of his nose, and malformed legs. As baby Robert is otherwise healthy, the doctors convince his parents to approve the first of many surgeries to reduce his facial difference. One leg is also amputated, and Robert comes home to his everyday white, working-class family. There's no particular theme to the tale of Robert's next decade and a half: he experiences school and teasing, attempts to participate in sports, and is shot down by a girl. Vignette-driven choppiness and the lack of an overarching narrative would make the likeliest audience be those who seek disability stories. However, young Robert's ongoing quest to identify as "normal"—a quest that remains unchanged until a sudden turnaround on the penultimate page—risks alienating readers comfortable with their disabilities. Brief lyrical moments ("as compulsory as soggy tomato sandwiches at snack time") appeal but are overwhelmed by the dry, distant prose dominating this autobiography.
An apt choice for collections that already have stronger alternatives, such as R.J. Palacio's Wonder (2012). (Memoir. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-425-28775-0
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
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An overview of Olympic and Paralympic events, with notes on rules, history, special gear, and epic feats and fails.
After quick intros to the ancient and modern games—and a timeline of the latter that, in a spirit of optimism, runs to 2020—this handbook goes on to cover some 40-plus events or classes of event, including sport climbing and skateboarding, both putatively debuting in 2020. Each entry arranges quick bursts of fact, historical background, basic rules of play, and medal tallies of renowned winners around a large, stylized central scene showing racially and ethnically diverse competitors in vigorous action; occasionally snarky commentary adds a chuckle or two (Wrestling: “A combat sport in which two athletes in singlets roll around on a mat cuddling each other until one of them can’t move anymore”). Along with individual entries for goalball and boccia, which are exclusively Paralympic events, versions of each sport as adapted for athletes with disabilities get nods throughout. Despite a claim at the outset that it’s “all about the medals!” every entry also includes general advice about the hazards and pleasures of participating in each sport at any level of skill. Readers will come away with a good overall view of the summer Olympics, if not a complete tally—in sailing alone, as Allen notes, there are 10 to 15 races in each of eight different events—plus a look at 19 exciting sports or games that may one day be added, like break dancing or…well, bowling.
Brisk, broad, often funny…and more than just peddling the medals. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1398-0
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Review Posted Online: March 29, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS | CHILDREN'S HISTORY
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