A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Holiday House
(pub.3.28.2023) 40 pages
ages 6-9
Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome
Illustrator: James E. Ransome
Character: Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax
Overview:
" You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker, or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax—a boy with bad luck but great ideas.
Lesa Cline-Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's journey from Adolphe's imagination to the pawn shop window where it caught the eye of musician Sidney Bechet and became the iconic symbol of jazz music it is today."
Tantalizing taste:
" His father let him be while Adolphe tested and tinkered and tweaked with keys and levers and reeds. Adolphe played flute, clarinet, and nearly every instrument you can imagine, including his own creations - the steam organ, the sax tuba, the sax trombone, the euphonium, the bass tuba, and the flugelhorn.
But Adolphe was daydreaming of a new sound. Just the right sound ...
He knew that [symphonies and marching bands] needed an instrument that was not as loud as a trumpet. Not as soft as a clarinet. Somewhere right in the middle."
And something more: The Story of the Saxophone concludes with references to the great saxophonists:
"Adolphe passed away in 1894, but in New Orleans and other cities, his saxophone lived.
On the street corners and in juke joints, at funerals and in jazz clubs, the sound of the saxophon spread to every corner of New Orleans. Only now people called it the saxophone. One day, when a New Orleans clarinetist named Sidney Bechet picked up a saxophone that blew low and slow, just how he liked it, he put down his clarinet and never picked it up again.
Coleman Hawkins heard Sidney play.
And Lester Young heard Coleman play.
And Charlie Parker heard Lester play.
And Dexter Gordon heard Charlie play. And everyone heard Dexter play the saxophone, that began far, far away, across the seas, in a workshop in Belgium, made by a boy everyone called Adolphe."
The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who
Discovered What Stars Are Made of
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Chronicle Books
(pub.2.7.2023) 48 pages
Author: Kirsten W. Larson
Illustrator: Katherine Roy
Character: Cecilia Payne
Overview:
" Astronomer and astrophysicist Cecilia Payne was the first person to discover what burns at the heart of stars. But she didn't start out as the groundbreaking scientist she would eventually become. She started out as a girl full of curiosity, hoping one day to unlock the mysteries of the universe.
With lyrical, evocative text by Kirsten W. Larson and extraordinary illustrations by award-winning illustrator Katherine Roy, this moving biography powerfully parallels the kindling of Cecilia Payne's own curiosity and her scientific career with the process of a star's birth, from mere possibility in an expanse of space to an eventual, breathtaking explosion of light."
Tantalizing taste:
" ... Cecilia's sphere feels smaller and smaller still when she realizes her new school is a black hole with none of her favorite classes.
No algebra. No German. No science.
Not even any friends for a shy and studious girl like her.
Cecilia hides in a secret place- a dusty lab meant for older students- and studies the rows of chemicals ringing the room. Here are the pieces that put the universe together."
And something more: The Cecilia Payne: Science Superstar section explains: "As a woman working in science, Cecilia often found her path difficult. She didn't look like other scientists of her day; they were mostly men But Cecilia proved not only what makes a star but also what makes a star scientist: curiosity, passion, hard work, and a belief in oneself."
The Story of Katanji Brown Jackson
A TRUE TALE WITH
A CHERRY ON TOP
Crown Books for Young Readers
(pub.2.28.2023) 40 pages
Ages 4-8
Author: Carol Boston Weatherford
Illustrator: Ashley Evans
Character: Kentanji Brown Jackson
Overview:
" From the time their daughter was born, Ketanji Brown’s parents taught her that if she worked hard and believed in herself, she could do anything. As a child, Ketanji focused on her studies and excelled, eventually graduating from Harvard Law School.
Years later, in 2016, when she was a federal judge, a seat opened on the United States Supreme Court. In a letter to then-President Barack Obama, Leila Jackson made a case for her mother—Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Although the timing didn’t work out then, it did in 2022, when President Joe Biden nominated her. At her confirmation, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black female Supreme Court justice in the United States."
Tantalizing taste:
Ketanji rose
from acting and singing to conquering the debate stage,
where she won national awards for public speaking.
Under the wing of her debate coach, Mrs. Fran Berger, Ketanji thrived.
'Mrs. Berger believed in me, and, in turn, I believed in myself."
She rose
above the debate judges who mocked her African name.
She'd respond by saying it clearly and writing it on the board:
K-e-t-a-n-j-i.
And something more: Author Carole Boston Weatherford wrote, in part, in "A Letter to My Granddaughter and All of Our Daughters":
"The long overdue appointment confirmed what Black women had always known: We belong. I could not help but cry.
There are still obstacles to overcome, doors to open, and hills to climb. Draw on the hope and strength of your ancestors. Your place is in the sun."
