Duke Ellington

Pinkney, Andrea Davis. 1998. Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra. Illustrated by Brian Pinkney.

I loved this picture book biography of Duke Ellington. The illustrations were great--and I'm not alone in thinking that, the book was honored with a Caldecott Honor in 1999. The text was great too. The style was very original--smooth, jazzy, rhythmic. The facts were all there, yes, but they were dressed up nicely by the language, the words she chose to use to tell her story. She's a natural storyteller and it shows.

Here's how it begins,

You ever hear of the jazz-playin' man, the man with the cats who could swing with band? He was born in 1899, in Washington, D.C. Born Edward Kennedy Ellington. But wherever young Edward went, he said, "Hey, call me Duke." Duke's name fit him rightly. He was a smooth-talkin', slick-steppin', piano-playin' kid...

Here's another example,

But with practice, all Duke's fingers rode the piano keys. Duke started to play his own made-up melodies. Whole notes, chords, sharps, and flats. Left-handed hops and right-handed slides. Believe it, man. Duke taught himself to press on the pearlies like nobody else could. His one-and-two-umpy-dump became a thing of the past. Now playing the piano was Duke's all-time love.

Well-researched (she even shares her bibliography with readers) the book is a great example of an accessible, thoroughly readable biography meant to be read and enjoyed.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews