Jazz Baby

Review
By Black Issues

(Black Issues Book Review) Carole Boston Weatherford’s Jazz Baby brings to life in poetry the rhythms, beats and instruments that create finger-snappin’, toe-tappin’ jazz. Eight kids from diverse ethnic backgrounds guide young readers through this fun-filled picture book. Weatherford’s poems celebrate jazz introducing young readers to various instruments, and inviting them to join in the fun. ‘Jazz baby, jazz baby, swing and sway. Shake and Shimmy, dance all day. Jazz baby, jazz baby, strike those keys. Make them plink, plink if you please.’ Laura Freeman’s soft, brightly colored illustrations complement the tone and mood of Weatherford’s poetry. Freeman literally envelops the children in music. Softly drawn musical notes, clefts, and instruments surround the kids on each page as they dance and play instruments together. Weatherford, author of The Sound That Jazz Makes and many other books of poetry for children, shares with children the magic of poetry and jazz. Parents and children alike will be swept away by Jazz Baby’s lyrical celebration of the music.