(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Don Tate. In 1960, Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn composed a jazz rendition of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite. They performed it in Las Vegas to amused and enthusiastic audiences. Celenza's text is appropriately jazzy, and Tate's curvy illustrations evoke the swing of the music. The true story is enhanced by the accompanying CD; the Sugar Plum Fairy morphs into Sugar Rum Cherry.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) YA African-American Biography Library series. These entries in the competent series trace the lives and contributions of outstanding personalities in the performing arts. Information in each title includes a well-balanced presentation of the trials and triumphs of the subject, fostered by social attitudes during his time. The text, though uninspired, is useful. Formulaic design includes photos, sidebars, and boxed quotes throughout each book. Reading list, timeline, websites. Ind. Review covers these African-American Biography Library titles: Duke Ellington, Paul Robeson, and Louis Armstrong.

Reviewer: Henrietta M. Smith

(4) YA Giants of Art and Culture series. The books in this series competently describe the life and achievements of these notable aritists. Only the chronology appears updated in Angelou; text and a time line bring readers to the late 1990s in Baryshnikov. The black-and-white photos are dark, grainy, and not always appropriately placed in relation to the text. A time line is included in each volume. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Giants of Art and Culture titles:Duke Ellington, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Maya Angelou.]

Reviewer: Gail Hedges