The Horn Book Guide

BIOGRAPHIES

Weatherford, Carole Boston

Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane

32 pp. | Holt | April, 2008 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8050-7994-4 $16.95

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Sean Qualls. In four-line stanzas Weatherford lists the sounds and experiences that made young Coltrane into the great musician he became. Qualls's paintings show John listening, focusing, soaking it all in. By the end, he's making his own music, and the collage, acrylic, and pencil illustrations shift from the realistic to shapes and colors evoking music. An appended author's note includes selected listening. Reading list.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2008