false 3873511 1 Before the legend of Billie Holliday, there was a girl named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holliday, possibly one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Eleanora's journey into legend took her through pain, poverty and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could change her life - a voice. Eleanora could sing! Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Billie Holliday sang as if she lived each lyric and in many ways she had.Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, award-winning poet, Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles Eleanora Fagan's metamorphosis into Billie Holliday and the dream she pursued with passion. 3918708 10 2008 Becoming Billie Holiday total:55|5:20|4:21|3:13|2:1|1:0| 55 225 101 24 3 1 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 09:42:06 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 04 07:45:50 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 12:14:02 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 12:40:41 -0800 2009 In Becoming Billie Holiday, author Carol Boston Weatherford explains in her ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jul 14 11:05:15 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 16 11:51:04 -0700 2009 2. Award (if applicable) Coretta Scott King Award
3. Star Rating 5
4. Grade level (s) 9-12th grade
5. Evaluation: This book is a really fun read as it flows beautifully. It is a fictional verse memoir; however it is based on the rough earl...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon May 04 17:36:42 -0700 2009 Mon May 04 17:42:22 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 23 14:37:41 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 02 15:28:08 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 14:37:41 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Oct 08 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 14:51:51 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 08 14:54:27 -0700 2009 The quote in the beginning of the book is:

When you listen to her, it's almost like an audiotape of her autobiography. She didn't sing anything unless she had lived it.
- Tony Bennett, jazz singer

A very, very quick read - but thoroughly enjoyable, and great premis...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed Feb 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 24 07:29:06 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 25 10:42:27 -0800 2009 This was the first novel-in-verse that I have ever read. The book is a fictional memoir about jazz legend Billie Holiday. The poems were free verse and the titles of each poem came from a song by Billie Holiday. Holiday had a difficult life and the poem...more...]]> 4 0 false false Wed May 20 23:16:03 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 16 22:35:30 -0700 2009 Wed May 20 23:16:03 -0700 2009
The developmental areas that are addressed consist of growi...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 20:57:51 -0700 2008 Sun Sep 28 05:15:25 -0700 2008
There are, in my view, ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Sep 03 08:47:19 -0700 2008 Wed Sep 03 08:47:42 -0700 2008
Billie Holiday does not have a happy life story. After all, she sang the blues for a reason. A biography written in verse seems only appropriate for a woman who lived her life in song -- whose only reliable escape was via music.

...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Feb 14 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 20:14:53 -0800 2009 Sat Feb 14 14:43:31 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Jan 25 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 09:29:09 -0800 2009 Mon Jan 26 10:42:28 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun May 17 15:44:59 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 14:48:02 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Sep 01 11:14:17 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 01 11:19:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 17:47:16 -0800 2009 Fri Mar 06 18:03:49 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Tue May 19 15:35:26 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 15:37:41 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Sun Jan 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Dec 18 16:48:13 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 06 13:42:29 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Sep 27 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 06 13:37:37 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 27 14:28:40 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Jun 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 09:54:56 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 09:54:56 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Mar 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 20:26:05 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 20:26:38 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=3873511