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 1930s: 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.

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Published: 04/01/2008
Pages: 32
Weight: 0.69lbs
Size: 10.10h x 8.40w x 0.33d
ISBN: 9780805079944
Age: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 120546 / Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane


Award: Coretta Scott King Award - Honor Book
Award: Golden Kite - Winner
Award: Delaware Diamonds Award - Nominee
Award: Golden Kite - Honor Book
Award: Georgia Children's Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/01/2008 pg. 60
Kirkus Review - Children 03/15/2008 pg. 314
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2008 pg. 360 - Recommended
Newsweek 04/07/2008 pg. 61
School Library Journal 04/01/2008 pg. 138
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2008 pg. 342
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2008 - Superior,Well Above Average
Hornbook Guide to Children 10/01/2008 pg. 457 - Superior,Well Above Average
ALA Notable Children's Books 03/15/2009 pg. 21

About the Author

CAROLE BOSTON WEATHERFORD wrote the Caldecott Honor book Moses: When Harriet Tubman Lead Her People to Freedom. She lives in North Carolina.

SEAN QUALLS illustrated the widely acclaimed biographies The Poet Slave of Cuba and Dizzy. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.