First sentence: In New Orleans, Louisiana, in a part of town outside of Storyville, tucked in a corner called Back o' Town, in a section nicknamed the Battlefield, Little Louis Armstrong was born, black and poor and lucky.
Premise/plot: Just A Lucky So and So is a picture book biography of Louis Armstrong. The book focuses on his childhood and ends with the beginning of his successful career. It is very much a story focused on JAZZ MUSIC. Is it a picture book for young readers or older readers? Is it possible best-suited for adults? I can't answer that perfectly. I think it depends entirely on the life-experiences and interests of the reader.
My thoughts: I love Louis Armstrong. Love, love, LOVE Louis Armstrong. In fact, some of his songs would top my list of BEST SONGS IN THE WHOLE WORLD list. (Some of my favorites: La Vie En Rose, A Kiss To Build a Dream On, What A Wonderful World, Hello Dolly, Kiss of Fire, I Get Ideas, It's Been A Long, Long Time, It Takes Two To Tango, They Can't Take That Away From Me, Cheek to Cheek, I Won't Dance, Let's Call the Whole Thing Off, A Fine Romance, Our Love Is Here to Stay. I could go on.) So my interest level in this picture book biography was high. Any children's book about Louis Armstrong is one I'm going to "need" to review.
I liked this one very much. I loved seeing Armstrong quoted throughout the biography. If this is a trend in picture book biographies, I love it!
I would definitely recommend that if you are going to share this one with children, that you share his music as well. He's very charismatic, and, I think the more familiar you are with his work--his music, his performances, his films, etc--the more you'll appreciate this one.
Text: 4 out of 5
Illustrations: 5 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10
© 2017 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
nice,,
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