This picture book by husband and wife team Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney won a Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Award in 1998. It is the story of Duke Ellington. The text is written with the slang and dialect of the time and place where this great jazz musician grew up. Words like "homebodies" and "kickin'" as well as phrases like "hot - buttered bop and lots of sassy - cool tones" and "when the joint started to jump" give the reader a front row seat. It is also a good way to get kids of all ages interested in an era other than their own. A great conversation could be started about slang and how the youth of every generation has it's own language so to speak.
The illustrations are done on scratch board with luma dyes, gouache and oil paint. Almost all of the illustrations are full bleeds, none are confined to a frame. All of the illustrations compliment the text beautifully. When the text compares the playing of the sax to the tail of a kite in the wind the painting shows the sax player in the park with a kite flying by. When the author says that "Duke painted colors with his band's sound", the painting shows beautiful colors streaming out of the instruments with Duke as the artist. These illustrations are the perfect compliment to the language used by the author.
Together the text and illustrations of this book are a great way to introduce children to many topics. From biographies and history, to jazz and slang.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra By: Andrea and Brian Pinkney
This picture book by husband and wife team Andrea Davis Pinkney and Brian Pinkney won a Caldecott Honor and the Coretta Scott King Award in 1998. It is the story of Duke Ellington. The text is written with the slang and dialect of the time and place where this great jazz musician grew up. Words like "homebodies" and "kickin'" as well as phrases like "hot - buttered bop and lots of sassy - cool tones" and "when the joint started to jump" give the reader a front row seat. It is also a good way to get kids of all ages interested in an era other than their own. A great conversation could be started about slang and how the youth of every generation has it's own language so to speak.
The illustrations are done on scratch board with luma dyes, gouache and oil paint. Almost all of the illustrations are full bleeds, none are confined to a frame. All of the illustrations compliment the text beautifully. When the text compares the playing of the sax to the tail of a kite in the wind the painting shows the sax player in the park with a kite flying by. When the author says that "Duke painted colors with his band's sound", the painting shows beautiful colors streaming out of the instruments with Duke as the artist. These illustrations are the perfect compliment to the language used by the author.
Together the text and illustrations of this book are a great way to introduce children to many topics. From biographies and history, to jazz and slang.
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