December 11th and Dizzy

It was like he had taken a wrecking ball/and SMASHED IN/The House of Jazz,/till the walls came tumbling down….Today I'm shouting out for the magical picture book Dizzy, written by Jonah Winters and illustrated by Sean Qualls. It's about the life of legendary jazz trumpet player John Burks “Dizzy” Gillespie. This visually phenomenal, breathtakingly rhythmic journey into the turbulent life of this trumpet musician takes no short cuts and doesn’t gloss over the incredibly difficult life of Gillespie growing up in poverty in an abusive home. Gillespie’s life changed the day a teacher gave him a trumpet and Gillespie’s red-anger splashes over the pages as he plays into the trumpet with a blare. Follow the rhythm of the music, the colors that accompany Gillespie’s journey through childhood sadness to the vibrant city life in New York. A starred Booklist review says “Qualls is able to translate the story (and the music) into shapes and colors that undulate and stream across the pages with a beat and bounce of their own.”If you or your children don’t know much about jazz, check out Dizzy  and get lost in a palette of colors and rhythms. The best thing to do after reading this book with your kids is to sit back and listen to Dizzy’s version of The Way You Look Tonight and literally be blown away. (All ages)