What do you think?
Rate this book
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane
Young John Coltrane was all ears. And there was a lot to hear growing up in the South in the 1930 preachers praying, music on the radio, the bustling of the household. These vivid noises shaped John's own sound as a musician. Carole Boston Weatherford and Sean Qualls have composed an amazingly rich hymn to the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane.
Before John Was a Jazz Giant is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
Before John Was a Jazz Giant is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book and a 2009 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2008
About the author
Carole Boston Weatherford
124 books433 followersCarole Boston Weatherford is a children's book author and poet who mines the past for family stories, traditions, and struggles. A number of CAROLE's books tell the stories of African-American historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Jesse Owens, and Billie Holiday. Other books recount historical events such as the Greensboro Sit-ins and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. CAROLE's books have received a wide variety of awards, including a Caldecott Honour for “Moses: When Harriet Tubman Led Her People To Freedom”.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews
July 8, 2016
I am looking forward to sharing this one with my students. We listened to some jazz last week and I think they'll appreciate this book. The text is brief, but shares about John Coltrane's life simply and in a fun and lively way.
April 13, 2008
Picture books about jazz are the oddest little critters, aren't they? There are a surprising number of them, first of all. Sometimes I think that all the rock and roll, blues, and opera picture books combined can't compare in number to the sheer amounts of jazz-related texts that cross library doorsteps every year. Much of this, I suspect, has much to do with illustrators feeling a kinship with that particular style of music. If jazz is an improvisational art, then it must burn in the bones of many an illustrator to bring that very concept to life. So it is that Chris Raschka comes out with his Charlie Parker Played Be Bop and Mysterious Thelonious titles while Walter Dean Myers and his son extol the multiple virtues of Jazz itself. Sean Qualls has always taken a bent that I find more practical. First he illustrated Jonah Winter's great picture book biography of Dizzy Gillespie Dizzy and now, with author Carole Boston Weatherford by his side, he has John Coltrane dead in his sights. Before John was a Jazz Giant won't answer any child's questions about what jazz is or why John Coltrane is important. At its core, it's just a simple story of a boy growing to love music and how that affects him later when he's an adult. And in a sense, that's a concept for a jazz picture book that really makes a lot of sense.
The very first words on the page are, "Before John was a jazz giant," and there stands a man blowing on his horn, commanding a room. But long before any of that, the boy called John heard music every day in a different way. It came to him in, "hambones knocking in Grandma's pots," or "Grandpa's Sunday sermons." The sounds that filled John's life weren't always happy of course. "... he heard birds warbling at sunrise, the sobs of kinfolk at family funerals." But eventually he would pick up a horn. And eventually he would breathe, "every sound he'd ever known into a bold new song." The crux of the matter is this. "Before John was a jazz giant, he was all ears." Backmatter giving factual information about John's life and work includes an Author's Note, a list of CDs for Selected Listening, and some books for Further Reading.
Kids doing reports on John Coltrane will flip immediately to the back of the book and use the information found in the one-page Author's Note. Even so, there's no Timeline here. Just a brief biography, a list of recordings, and some references to some books on the subject. What Weatherford seems to be aiming for here, though, is a kind of Ben's Trumpet but with scant concentration on the means by which John would eventually become a jazz giant. This is a story about how your family, your world, your experiences inform you and turn you into a "giant". Here's a page that offers up a good example of this: "Before John was a jazz giant, he heard steam engines whistling past, Cousin Marry giggling at jitterbuggers, and Bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show." You are the sum of your parts. And Weatherford works in elements of John's little known young life without lingering. The Author's Note tells us that his grandmother, grandfather, aunt and father all died around the same time. So, in turn, the book mentions "the sobs of kinfolk at family funerals," and you know that that was a part of his existence too. This is a story of the impressions received over a young life. What happened after he grew up is fodder for another writer.
I do say with certainty that this is my favorite of artist Sean Qualls' work. According to the publication page he used a combination of acrylic, collage, and pencil to create the illustrations here. The result is an interesting combination of swirls and perfect concentric circles. As with many jazz books, how do you render an audible concept visible? In this particular case, our first view of John is as an adult. A white circle gives all the appearance of a spotlight, highlighting only his head and shoulders. Beneath in silhouette is the saxophone. Its keys are red and from it pours music that looks more smoke than sound. Circles also burst forth. In fact, there are circles all over this book. Wherever there is sound, there are circles. The phonograph spits musical notes and circles. The tapping of pots and pans makes smaller filled-in spheres of a different hue entirely. Music here is all smoke rings and bubbles, overlapping, changing their colors when they mix with one another. It's not a bad way to look at the music, really. And because Qualls works it in so seamlessly, I'd bet good money that a lot of people won't even notice that those ubiquitous circles are there.
This is certainly one of Qualls' more expressive books as well. Silhouettes get their due. I was pleased with the images of jitterbuggers as they dance against a rather mod backdrop of Rothko-esque red and orange squares. Bojangles too is just a black outline against the white of a spotlight. And I loved the callbacks. Who doesn't like callbacks, after all? Any illustrator that can reward you for reading and then rereading a book is an illustrator worth knowing. In this book, when at last John picks up his instrument and blows you see images from his life. The church where his mother sang. The train that would run past his home. Even the very birds that may have flown over the funerals he attended. In Dizzy Qualls was all about the boy and how the world reflected him. With this book, the world informs his boy character, and the result is mod and angular, full of shapes and circular patterns and colored flames that lick off the performers' bodies. Extra points too for having a different image on the actual book than is seen on the book jacket.
Libraries will put this book in their biography sections because John Coltrane's name is in the title. The Dewey decimal cataloging record is 788.7 which instead puts it in the music section. But I would ask everyone to consider this a great picture book. Its back matter will be useful to kids doing reports, but I like the idea of putting it amongst the other stories in the collection. Put a book in a biography section and it will only be looked at when someone wants to do a report. Put a book in a picture book section and maybe someday a pair of curious hands will pull it down, look through it, and find something to read and to love. And unlike a book like Chris Raschka's John Coltrane's Giant Steps, this strikes a balance between a man's music and a man's life that kids will definitely dig. Jazz done young, done right.
Ages 4-8.
The very first words on the page are, "Before John was a jazz giant," and there stands a man blowing on his horn, commanding a room. But long before any of that, the boy called John heard music every day in a different way. It came to him in, "hambones knocking in Grandma's pots," or "Grandpa's Sunday sermons." The sounds that filled John's life weren't always happy of course. "... he heard birds warbling at sunrise, the sobs of kinfolk at family funerals." But eventually he would pick up a horn. And eventually he would breathe, "every sound he'd ever known into a bold new song." The crux of the matter is this. "Before John was a jazz giant, he was all ears." Backmatter giving factual information about John's life and work includes an Author's Note, a list of CDs for Selected Listening, and some books for Further Reading.
Kids doing reports on John Coltrane will flip immediately to the back of the book and use the information found in the one-page Author's Note. Even so, there's no Timeline here. Just a brief biography, a list of recordings, and some references to some books on the subject. What Weatherford seems to be aiming for here, though, is a kind of Ben's Trumpet but with scant concentration on the means by which John would eventually become a jazz giant. This is a story about how your family, your world, your experiences inform you and turn you into a "giant". Here's a page that offers up a good example of this: "Before John was a jazz giant, he heard steam engines whistling past, Cousin Marry giggling at jitterbuggers, and Bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show." You are the sum of your parts. And Weatherford works in elements of John's little known young life without lingering. The Author's Note tells us that his grandmother, grandfather, aunt and father all died around the same time. So, in turn, the book mentions "the sobs of kinfolk at family funerals," and you know that that was a part of his existence too. This is a story of the impressions received over a young life. What happened after he grew up is fodder for another writer.
I do say with certainty that this is my favorite of artist Sean Qualls' work. According to the publication page he used a combination of acrylic, collage, and pencil to create the illustrations here. The result is an interesting combination of swirls and perfect concentric circles. As with many jazz books, how do you render an audible concept visible? In this particular case, our first view of John is as an adult. A white circle gives all the appearance of a spotlight, highlighting only his head and shoulders. Beneath in silhouette is the saxophone. Its keys are red and from it pours music that looks more smoke than sound. Circles also burst forth. In fact, there are circles all over this book. Wherever there is sound, there are circles. The phonograph spits musical notes and circles. The tapping of pots and pans makes smaller filled-in spheres of a different hue entirely. Music here is all smoke rings and bubbles, overlapping, changing their colors when they mix with one another. It's not a bad way to look at the music, really. And because Qualls works it in so seamlessly, I'd bet good money that a lot of people won't even notice that those ubiquitous circles are there.
This is certainly one of Qualls' more expressive books as well. Silhouettes get their due. I was pleased with the images of jitterbuggers as they dance against a rather mod backdrop of Rothko-esque red and orange squares. Bojangles too is just a black outline against the white of a spotlight. And I loved the callbacks. Who doesn't like callbacks, after all? Any illustrator that can reward you for reading and then rereading a book is an illustrator worth knowing. In this book, when at last John picks up his instrument and blows you see images from his life. The church where his mother sang. The train that would run past his home. Even the very birds that may have flown over the funerals he attended. In Dizzy Qualls was all about the boy and how the world reflected him. With this book, the world informs his boy character, and the result is mod and angular, full of shapes and circular patterns and colored flames that lick off the performers' bodies. Extra points too for having a different image on the actual book than is seen on the book jacket.
Libraries will put this book in their biography sections because John Coltrane's name is in the title. The Dewey decimal cataloging record is 788.7 which instead puts it in the music section. But I would ask everyone to consider this a great picture book. Its back matter will be useful to kids doing reports, but I like the idea of putting it amongst the other stories in the collection. Put a book in a biography section and it will only be looked at when someone wants to do a report. Put a book in a picture book section and maybe someday a pair of curious hands will pull it down, look through it, and find something to read and to love. And unlike a book like Chris Raschka's John Coltrane's Giant Steps, this strikes a balance between a man's music and a man's life that kids will definitely dig. Jazz done young, done right.
Ages 4-8.
December 8, 2013
Being a lover of all types of music this was a wonderful read with my kids to show them much of anything that makes noise can be incorporated into a song or in this case John Coltranes future in music. The blues and purples used and seeing the music come straight out of the instruments throughout this book flow right with explaining how John grows into the great musician. One of the books bonus features is the biography/timeline of Johns journey.
February 10, 2020
Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane is a children's picture book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Sean Qualls. It tells the story of a young John Coltrane growing up in the South in the 1930s.
February, at least in my part of the world is Black History Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.
Weatherford's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and poetic. Weatherford's compressed poetic homage to Coltrane's early influences relays biographical details through metaphors evoking sound. An author's note, selected recordings, and reading list could be found in the backmatter. Qualls's mixed-media full-bleed spreads employ a color palette that is complementary to the text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Written like a song with about six stanzas, each beginning with the titular phrase, both convey 1930s references and presage Coltrane's musical arc to come. The biography follows Coltrane as he first found music – particular jazz.
All in all, Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane is a wonderful lyrical biographical story about the jazz legend – John Coltrane.
February, at least in my part of the world is Black History Month, which I plan to read one children's book, particularly a biography, which pertains to the subject everyday this month. Therefore, I thought that this book would be apropos for today.
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was at the forefront of free jazz. He led at least fifty recording sessions and appeared on many albums by other musicians, including trumpeter Miles Davis and pianist Thelonious Monk.
Weatherford's text is rather simplistic, straightforward, informative, and poetic. Weatherford's compressed poetic homage to Coltrane's early influences relays biographical details through metaphors evoking sound. An author's note, selected recordings, and reading list could be found in the backmatter. Qualls's mixed-media full-bleed spreads employ a color palette that is complementary to the text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. Written like a song with about six stanzas, each beginning with the titular phrase, both convey 1930s references and presage Coltrane's musical arc to come. The biography follows Coltrane as he first found music – particular jazz.
All in all, Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane is a wonderful lyrical biographical story about the jazz legend – John Coltrane.
November 28, 2025
This is the story of how John Coltrane and how the sounds of his childhood helped shape his Jazz career. Things like his mother's singing, the sounds of trains, and the movement of the city all inspired his music and helped him to become a Jazz giant. This book is suited for readers in about grades 1-3. This book would appeal to readers learning about music and the people who have shaped music today. This book would also appeal to those learning about black history, and black historical figures. This book would make a great addition to a classroom library because it would make for a great read aloud during black history month, or teaching black history. Key themes and topics of this book include music, creativity, black history, expression, rhythm, Jazz, and heritage.
August 14, 2024
A nonfiction picture book with beautiful illustrations in acrylic, collage, and pencil by artist Sean Qualls. The author shows all of the musical influences that John Coltrane listened to as a child - from birds to sermons to big bands to church choirs to steam engines to his father's ukelele to his mother's phonograph - and concludes that, "Before John was a jazz giant, he picked up that horn, blew into the mouthpiece, pressed his fingers on the keys, and breathed every sound he'd ever known into a bold new song." An author's note is included in the back, detailing Coltrane's life with a special focus on his childhood and family influences. There is also a list of recordings for selected listening and books for further reading. A lovely way to introduce young children to a jazz musician's life and allow them to recognize the sounds they hear in common with the great saxophonist.
December 4, 2025
I discovered this book on the Nonfiction-Informational wakelet provided to us in this week's module by Dr Quiroa. This book received the Golden Kite Award for picture book text. This story follows musical composer John Coltrane and his discovery of music when he was a kid. The story describes all of the sounds that John hears when he is growing up that inspired him to become a musical composer. He described the "hambones knocking in Grandma's pots" and "cousin Mary giggling at jitterbugs." So it wasn't just the musical sounds he was hearing, it was every sound that created noise or a beat that made him fall in love with music.
I enjoyed the illustrations in this book as it offers a collection of colors and enlarged cartoon images of the characters that really makes you feel like you're apart of the story. It captures your attention and the text does a great job of flowing with the style of illustrations without being completely separated alltogether.
I would recommend this book to grades 1st-5th. I feel that this book would do great as a read aloud to the whole class and then within small groups, students can create their own illustrations of what in the world around them inspires them to do what they want to do in life. Whether that is sports, art, dance, music, literature etc. Students can present their work to the class or even conduct in a gallery walk where students can compare the drawings they made to their classmates. They can visually see how they relate to their classmates based on their interests. Students could also get into small group book analysis clubs and discuss the important themes of this book and how it applies to them or how it can apply to others outside of the book.
I enjoyed the illustrations in this book as it offers a collection of colors and enlarged cartoon images of the characters that really makes you feel like you're apart of the story. It captures your attention and the text does a great job of flowing with the style of illustrations without being completely separated alltogether.
I would recommend this book to grades 1st-5th. I feel that this book would do great as a read aloud to the whole class and then within small groups, students can create their own illustrations of what in the world around them inspires them to do what they want to do in life. Whether that is sports, art, dance, music, literature etc. Students can present their work to the class or even conduct in a gallery walk where students can compare the drawings they made to their classmates. They can visually see how they relate to their classmates based on their interests. Students could also get into small group book analysis clubs and discuss the important themes of this book and how it applies to them or how it can apply to others outside of the book.
November 21, 2017
Text to self connection:
This book tells the story of a little boy who uses his world, his experiences and his family to become a “jazz giant”. A phrase from the book that better explains this is “ Before John was a Jazz giant, he heard steam engines whistling past, cousin Mary giggling at jitterbuggers, and bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show”. He is speaking of past experiences and sounds and using them as a platform for his music. I think this would be a great lesson to the students about how our life experiences shape us into who we are, and how we learn as we go. You may not be perfect at something the first time you try it, and there may be things you don’t know yet at a young age, but as you go through things and grow, so do your experiences and that adds to your talent! I would read this book to my students and then go around the circle and ask the children something that they enjoy doing and something they want to improve at.
This book tells the story of a little boy who uses his world, his experiences and his family to become a “jazz giant”. A phrase from the book that better explains this is “ Before John was a Jazz giant, he heard steam engines whistling past, cousin Mary giggling at jitterbuggers, and bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show”. He is speaking of past experiences and sounds and using them as a platform for his music. I think this would be a great lesson to the students about how our life experiences shape us into who we are, and how we learn as we go. You may not be perfect at something the first time you try it, and there may be things you don’t know yet at a young age, but as you go through things and grow, so do your experiences and that adds to your talent! I would read this book to my students and then go around the circle and ask the children something that they enjoy doing and something they want to improve at.
March 26, 2010
This text is a 2009 Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor book. It is appropriate for children ages 4-8.
Sean Qualls's illustrations for Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane allow us as readers and viewers to see the "hand of the creator" so to speak. His seemingly chaotic and haphazard application of acrylic paint is immediately visible even on the mostly indigo endpapers. His layering of the paint creates space, movement, depth and shadow. Although Qualls uses several coats of paint in both variations on a shade and as accents, he achieves an effect where objects and people appear almost translucent. We are privy to the previous layers. What is lost in the process of transferring his artwork from original form to the printed page is this: it is almost impossible to notice the collage elements. Yet, this may be intentional. The double page spreads create a pattern throughout the text that frequently alternates between warm and cool tones. What unifies the illustrations, aside from color palate, is the repetition of orbs and streams of sound that move our eyes across the page, sometimes leading our gaze in the direction we have come from. This seems critical to me because this book is an account of how John Coltrane used all of the sounds of his past to generate a jazz sound that was uniquely his own. Thus, the fact that the artwork makes us pause and reflect on the page we have just "visited" is genius. I appreciate when art and theme integrate. Not only does Qualls accomplish that, but his visual interpretation of the text captures even the most minute details. There are often many elements to incorporate based on textual description, none of which is lost on Qualls.
Sean Qualls's illustrations for Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane allow us as readers and viewers to see the "hand of the creator" so to speak. His seemingly chaotic and haphazard application of acrylic paint is immediately visible even on the mostly indigo endpapers. His layering of the paint creates space, movement, depth and shadow. Although Qualls uses several coats of paint in both variations on a shade and as accents, he achieves an effect where objects and people appear almost translucent. We are privy to the previous layers. What is lost in the process of transferring his artwork from original form to the printed page is this: it is almost impossible to notice the collage elements. Yet, this may be intentional. The double page spreads create a pattern throughout the text that frequently alternates between warm and cool tones. What unifies the illustrations, aside from color palate, is the repetition of orbs and streams of sound that move our eyes across the page, sometimes leading our gaze in the direction we have come from. This seems critical to me because this book is an account of how John Coltrane used all of the sounds of his past to generate a jazz sound that was uniquely his own. Thus, the fact that the artwork makes us pause and reflect on the page we have just "visited" is genius. I appreciate when art and theme integrate. Not only does Qualls accomplish that, but his visual interpretation of the text captures even the most minute details. There are often many elements to incorporate based on textual description, none of which is lost on Qualls.
February 11, 2009
I just loved, loved, loved this one! It just excites me through and through. It just works. So many things to love, so many reasons why. I don't think I can do it justice. But I'll try. I'll try. The book--beautifully illustrated, award-worthy illustrations in my humble opinion--is a poetic tribute to the legendary John Coltrane. Each stanza of the poem begins with the refrain, "Before John was a jazz giant..." Each stanza gives the reader information about John's life--his family, his childhood, his background, his surroundings, etc. Weatherford's writing is just incredible--beautiful, rhythmic, and oh-so-right. The images she creates just resonate. I don't want to quote too much, but I don't want to quote too little either. These are the first two stanzas...
Before John was a jazz giant,
he heard hambones knocking in Grandma's pots,
Daddy strumming the ukulele,
and Mama cranking the phonograph.
Before John was a jazz giant,
he heard steam engines whistling past,
Cousin Mary giggling at jitterbuggers,
and Bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show.
I just loved the ending--adored it. But I'm not going to share that here. You need to pick this one up on your own!
Both the illustrations and the text were outstanding on this one.
Before John was a jazz giant,
he heard hambones knocking in Grandma's pots,
Daddy strumming the ukulele,
and Mama cranking the phonograph.
Before John was a jazz giant,
he heard steam engines whistling past,
Cousin Mary giggling at jitterbuggers,
and Bojangles tap-dancing in the picture show.
I just loved the ending--adored it. But I'm not going to share that here. You need to pick this one up on your own!
Both the illustrations and the text were outstanding on this one.
May 12, 2016
Huh. I'm torn. I really liked this book, but it left me wanting more. The pictures are to die for. Sean Qualls is quickly becoming one of my favorite children's illustrators. (Emmanuel's Dream: The True Story of Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah was awesome.) I really like Carole Boston Weatherford, too. She wrote one of my favorite picture books last year, Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer. And Before John Was a Jazz Giant does what it says it's going to do. It's a lovely song about John Coltrane. BUT... all the biographical information is shoved in the back of the book. On one page. In tiny type. It felt very uneven to me, and thus only three stars.
February 7, 2014
I didn't shelve Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane as nonfiction, because it's pretty much speculative. But it could be kind of an intro biography for the younger set. This book has a great, jazzy cadence to it, which really serves to introduce the kids to jazz. It also has a bit of a music appreciation theme. This is about when John Coltrane was a young boy, and how he heard music everywhere: in hambones knocking around a pot, in the wails of funeral mourners, in his grandfather preaching. It's a good book to introduce kids to the concept that music is everywhere, and that you don't need instruments. To be honest, that was pretty much lost on the kids, but I still liked it. This is a good Black History Month storytime pick in that it's a lot less wordy that the typical history-themed picture book. Probably because, like I said, it's not really historical.
Ages 4-8
Ages 4-8
March 1, 2014
Centers on the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane, and the sounds that inspired and shaped him as a musician. The story begins in John's kitchen at home where the sounds of the pots and pans of where his grandmother cooks catches his ear, as well as the ukulele his father played. Young John also would pay attention to the steam engine that passed through his neighborhood, and the music coming from the local movie theatre. He paid close attention to the poetic sounds of his grandfather's sermons in church, as well as the choir.
It is a great book for encouraging children to be creative by paying attention to their surroundings...
Read my entire review at http://100childrensbooks.blogspot.com...
It is a great book for encouraging children to be creative by paying attention to their surroundings...
Read my entire review at http://100childrensbooks.blogspot.com...
April 24, 2008
Another beautifully illustrated book about jazz for kids. This book is about Jonh Coltrane before he was a star. I really like the way that it emphasizes all of the things he did, like playing his horn and hearing sounds, people and music all around him.
September 19, 2008
Jazz begins with the rhythm of pots and pans for John Coltrane and can for any other child luck enough to see and hear this book read to them.
January 5, 2017
Lovely structure, a beautiful way to approach a biography, not too much fact, but every phrase opens a world. Nice back matter.
June 21, 2018
Before A Love Supreme, Mr. John Coltrane was a boy with a dream! I absolutely LOVED this book!
November 1, 2023
"Before John was a jazz giant, he heard hambones knocking on Grandma’s pots, Daddy strumming the ukulele, and Mama cranking the phonograph.” Weatherford catalogs the auditory influences surrounding the childhood of musical innovator John Coltrane in a thirty page lyric each beginning with the phrase, “Before John was a jazz giant,” as a riff that introduces every sound and rhythm that the young boy heard growing up, among them: “steam engines … Grandpa’s Sunday Sermons … sobs of kinfolks at family funerals … big bands on the radio and a saxophone’s soulful solo, blue notes crooning his name.” in an order that reflects John’s early experiences. Accompanied by Qualls’s smooth acrylic portraits text and pictures flow together into the print equivalent of a fine saxophone solo, followed by a one page biography of the musician, a discography and a bibliography for young readers who want to hear and learn more about Coltrane.
March 10, 2018
This book focuses on the childhood of jazz legend John Coltrane. The author repeats the refrain "Before John was a jazz giant" and then mentions the sounds he heard around him every day -- the whistle of a steam engine, his grandpa's Sunday sermons and the church choir, music on the radio. The story ends with the stunningly simple, yet powerful, statement that "Before John was a jazz giant,/he was all ears." An Author's Note is included in the back of the book that provides more details about Coltrane's life. A selection of recommended CDs and books for further reading are also included.
In a simple style that is accessible to younger children, the author introduces John Coltrane as an ordinary boy who turned into an incredible musician. This would be a great book to read as an introduction during a music class where students are learning about jazz.
In a simple style that is accessible to younger children, the author introduces John Coltrane as an ordinary boy who turned into an incredible musician. This would be a great book to read as an introduction during a music class where students are learning about jazz.
November 27, 2023
"Before John Was a Jazz Giant" by Carole Boston Weatherford is a biography of legendary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. The story goes through John's childhood and all the sounds he would hear as a child with an ear for music. The book talks a lot about John's family and his call for music at a young age. The story used repeated exposure because each page started with the phrase, "Before John was a jazz giant". I thought this was a notable component as this helps children to recognize patterns and connect key concepts. The story had little text and the pages were mostly filled with watercolor type art. The illustrations were very symbolic and interpreted the text beautifully. This book would be best suited for grades K-3.
April 23, 2019
Genre: Biography
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award
Audience: Grades 3-5th
A. This book is a partial biography because it only discusses a short time of John's childhood of him growing up and how he found his way to loving music. This book does not dive deep into his whole childhood or any of his adulthood, just a short portion of his early years.
B. This is a fictionalized biography because his childhood is described very briefly and without much or any conversations. This book is used to give a basic, child-friendly outline and description of his early years.
C. What is a phonograph? What is a jitterbug?
Awards: Coretta Scott King Award
Audience: Grades 3-5th
A. This book is a partial biography because it only discusses a short time of John's childhood of him growing up and how he found his way to loving music. This book does not dive deep into his whole childhood or any of his adulthood, just a short portion of his early years.
B. This is a fictionalized biography because his childhood is described very briefly and without much or any conversations. This book is used to give a basic, child-friendly outline and description of his early years.
C. What is a phonograph? What is a jitterbug?
March 3, 2020
Summary: This book became sweet and to the point through the life of John's magician lifestyle. John grew up listening to many types of music throughout the comfort of his own home. Finally, one day he picked up a horn and realized that everything he's heard growing up is present in the sounds he plays. This made him realize that before he played, he was all ears.
Theme: You don't know unless you try.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Response: The book was short and to the point. However, if kids do not pick up on the deeper meaning, the book has no real point to it.
Recommend: Although it is a simple read, this book can be read to children who need confidence or are afraid to do something.
Theme: You don't know unless you try.
Rating: 3/5 stars
Response: The book was short and to the point. However, if kids do not pick up on the deeper meaning, the book has no real point to it.
Recommend: Although it is a simple read, this book can be read to children who need confidence or are afraid to do something.
September 16, 2021
This book is a children’s nonfiction picture book on the childhood of Jazz legend, John Coltrane. It depicts how he came to be the jazz giant through the sounds he heard all around him growing up. This is would be a great read for speaking about cultural diversity or for Black History Month.
I was raised up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana so reading this book felt very nostalgic for me and I loved every second of it. The illustrations were colorful, simplistic, and had a classic New Orleans style to them. You can almost hear the sounds of jazz radiating off the pages. This is a great read for young readers because of its extremely simplistic content and its enticing graphics.
I was raised up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana so reading this book felt very nostalgic for me and I loved every second of it. The illustrations were colorful, simplistic, and had a classic New Orleans style to them. You can almost hear the sounds of jazz radiating off the pages. This is a great read for young readers because of its extremely simplistic content and its enticing graphics.
April 5, 2018
This was a great nonfiction story with some super cute illustrations. Little John Coltrane was so cute! It is amazing to see how he transformed his life and experiences into music! I loved the use of color with the notes flowing from the instruments. Blue and purple are such a good color combination! The way his life changes from seeing trains and then becoming a music giant. Like I said about the book, "A Splash of Red" I would have enjoyed music class so much more if we had beautiful resources like this to learn from.
October 26, 2017
This is a clever way to tell the story of John Coltrane that is both simple and colorful. Every page had just enough text to balance with the illustrations allowing young children to follow along without feeling overwhelmed by text. It also leaves room for a child to ask questions about jazz and John Coltrane which can lead to an investigation at the library or internet. Recommend to anyone with children who love music.
October 16, 2021
Before John Was a Jazz Giant is a beautiful book to read through. Its about the story of famous Jazz star, John Coltrane, as he grew up in the south in the 1930s. Its amazing how the write was able to use a children's book to act as a biography for the famous jazz star. This can be very useful for teachers who are teaching music or giving children an idea of what biographies are. This book very much deserves the Golden Kite Award.
October 29, 2019
Great illustrations and a solid story makes this picture book great! This would be great for music teachers, or for any teacher who would love to share the legacy of great African-Americans with kids. This would make a great mentor book for writing as well. Most of all, it was nice to read about all the cultural and family events that contributed to John Coltrane’s amazing music.
Want to Read
March 17, 2021This book is super interesting. It discusses the life of John Coltrane a great American Saxophonist. It shows when he discovered music and how it impacted his life. The illustrations are beautiful. The story discusses how music in his childhood shaped his own musical ideas.
Age Level:3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
Age Level:3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader
December 13, 2017
All color in this book seems well- chosen, considering the character and his environment. It is a good example of biography from which children come to recognize the importance of childhood experiences in shaping who we become as adults.
March 21, 2019
The text covers different sound and musical influences on a young Coltrane, but does not effectively connect those sounds to his music, and I suspect that could have been done.
Still could be a good precursor to helping children identify different sounds in music.
Still could be a good precursor to helping children identify different sounds in music.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 132 reviews