Jazz Baby

• Age Range: 4 - 7 years

• Grade Level: Preschool - 3

• 2008 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

• 2008 Charlotte Zolotow Award

• 2008 ALSC Notable Children's Books

• 2008 CCBC Choices

For classroom and reading resources, click here.

SUMMARY

With a simple clap of hands, an itty-bitty beboppin' baby gets his whole family singing and dancing.

Sister's hands snap. Granny sings scat. Uncle soft-shoes--and Baby keeps the groove. Things start to wind down when Mama and Daddy sing blues so sweet. Now a perfectly drowsy baby sleeps deep, deep, deep.
    
Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie pair up for a celebration of music, imagination, and big families--but they know that even a jazz baby needs to snooze. Oh yeah.

REVIEWS

“Wheeler’s verse scans beautifully and begs to be read aloud—danced to, even—making this a fine choice for preschool and kindergarten story times. Christie’s bold, double-paged gouache compositions locate this colorfully garbed, expressively hip family within an equally vibrant community. . . . Exultant and infectious, from the red-and-yellow-striped endpapers to the final ‘OH YEAH!’”—Kirkus Reviews

“Against stark white pages, Christie’s paintings in sepia/ochre tones highlighted with brighter shades of green, blue, violet, and red add to the happy, hoppin’ scene. The stylized African Americans with happy, expressive faces, outlined in free-form black line, dance and sway across the pages along with the words (in large and supersize font). Read aloud with a strong emphasis on the beat and a little body movement, too, this lively poetic piece will charm many a little person and provide a joyful musical experience for readers, as well.” —School Library Journal