Awards

• Commended for Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens (Seven to Ten) 2015
• Commended for Coretta Scott King Award (Illustrator) 2015
• Commended for Georgia Children's Book Award (Picture Storybook) 2016

Overview

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA) NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) A biography of African American jazz virtuoso Melba Doretta Liston, a pioneering twentieth-century trombone player, composer, and music arranger at a time when few women, of any race, played brass instruments and were part of the jazz scene. Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio. At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few. Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.

Full Product Details

9781600608988

Table of Contents

Reviews

Best Books Best Books of the Year Best of the Best Books Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor Notable Children's Book Best Children's Books of the Year: Outstanding Merit Notable Books for a Global Society Amelia Bloomer Project - Feminist Task Force Best Multicultural Books Choices Delaware Diamonds Reading List Eureka! Award Louisiana Readers' Choice Award NAACP Image Award Nominee Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Recommended Reading List: Grade 4

Best Books, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best of the Best Books, Chicago Public Library Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor, American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Book, American Library Association (ALA) Best Children's Books of the Year: Outstanding Merit, Bank Street College of Education Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association (IRA) Amelia Bloomer Project - Feminist Task Force, American Library Association (ALA) Best Books of the Year, Honorable Mention, The Huffington Post Best Multicultural Books, Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Books Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) Delaware Diamonds Reading List, Diamond State Reading Association Eureka! Award, California Reading Association Louisiana Readers' Choice Award, State Library of Louisiana NAACP Image Award Nominee, NAACP Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction, Recommended Title, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Recommended Reading List: Grade 4, New York City Reads 365

* Russell-Brown's debut text has an innate musicality, mixing judicious use of onomatopoeia with often sonorous prose. Morrison's sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba's story... Readers will agree that 'Melba Doretta Liston was something special.' -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review * Music lovers will enjoy this picture-book biography of Melba Liston (1926-1999), child prodigy and virtuoso trombonist who collaborated with most 20th century jazz greats. An excellent match of breezy text and dynamic illustrations tells an exhilarating story... A celebration of the talent and success of a little-known African American female musician, this title will enrich library collections. -- School Library Journal, starred review * Staccato rhythms pepper the fluid prose ... Morrison's oil paintings practically sway with a jazz beat, though somber moments crop up, too: the shadows on Liston's face signify the trials of life on the road. A final image showing long-limbed Liston in profile as she plays under the glow of stage lights is exquisite. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review In a smoothly passed narrative, this picture-book biography surveys the full life arc of a relatively unknown and unique jazz master. Brimming with inherent and inescapable enthusiasm, the oil-painting illustrations are the cat's pajamas, with brassy colors and jazzy perspectives that slide across the long pages, like Melba's own instrument. -- Booklist Best Books, Kirkus Reviews Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best of the Best Books, Chicago Public Library Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor, American Library Association (ALA) Notable Children's Book, American Library Association (ALA) Best Children's Books of the Year: Outstanding Merit, Bank Street College of Education Notable Books for a Global Society, International Reading Association (IRA) Amelia Bloomer Project - Feminist Task Force, American Library Association (ALA) Best Books of the Year, Honorable Mention, The Huffington Post Best Multicultural Books, Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Books Choices, Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) NAACP Image Award Nominee, NAACP Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction, Recommended Title, National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Recommended Reading List: Grade 4, New York City Reads 365 Delaware Diamonds Reading List, Diamond State Reading Association Eureka! Award, California Reading Association Louisiana Readers' Choice Award, State Library of Lousiana

Author Information

Katheryn Russell-Brown is the award-winning author of several children's picture books, including Little Melba and Her Big Trombone and She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm. When not writing picture books, Russell-Brown is a professor of law, teaching and researching on issues of race and crime and the sociology of law. Learn more at krbrown.net. Frank Morrison has illustrated numerous award-winning books, including the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor winner Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, published by Lee & Low Books. Before becoming an illustrator, Morrison was a graffiti artist and b-boy. Morrison lives with his family in Georgia. You can learn more about him at morrisongraphics.com.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available