This Jazz Man

by Karen Ehrhardt

Book Overview

In this toe-tapping jazz tribute, the traditional "This Old Man" gets a swinging makeover, and some of the era's best musicians take center stage. The tuneful text and vibrant illustrations bop,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152053077
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

fun to sing

fun to sing but i wish there was one called "THIS JAZZ GIRL" with 10 women of jazz and blues i.e. Koko Taylor and Bessie Smith.

Excellent Just Needs A Musical CD !!!!

I love this book! My son is 20 months and loves this book the rhythm of the words, the numbers, the clapping the sounds of the instruments. What would be excellent if there was an auditory accompaniment to the book. A taping of someone reading the book who can demonstrate the sounds or even better a taping that included musical instruments playing. I know a lot of people would LOVE to hear it as well and it would be an excellent teaching tool. Please forward this to the appropriate individuals and if possible keep me updated on the release date of the cd. Thank YOU for writing such an awesome, entertaining and needed book!

Encore! We want more!

Oooh, this book made me what to rap and tap and beedle-di-bop! Which is quite somethin', since I don't have a musical bone in my body! This is a great book-the text jives off the page and the illustrations thimp dumple thump right along. What a great way to teach kids about jazz legends! Hats off to Ehrdhardt and Roth for a beautiful book! Encore!

A great read aloud for kids!

I am an elementary school media specialist for grades 1 - 5. I read this book to my first and second graders. By the third jazz man they were chanting along with me. By the fifth man we were all singing along with the familiar song tune. They loved the scat phrases and repeated them over and over. What a bonus that these men are actual jazz legends. I highly recommend this book for a great musical read.

Jude's Review of Jazz Man

I'm 3 and my Grandmother Helene reads this book to me. She said that my Doctor Beth gave it to me and my sister Scarlett and the author signed it. That made me smile. I really like this book. My grandmother sings me it and i like music and instruments and can name the saxophone and trumpet and drums.I like the pictures of the conga drums. I usually say, " read it again" when she's done and I can almost pick out all the numbers now too. Jude Stulb, Pueblo Colorado

This Great Book! (More and More Honors!)

Update, 2010. Live on Stage: The Sounds of "This Jazz Man" Finally! "This Jazz Man" will be released very soon on CD and cassette, and I'm lucky enough to have an advance copy from the publisher. Although author Ehrhardt and illustrator Roth painted a superb word-picture combo, the SOUND of those illustrious 10 Jazz men was absent from the mix. The audio version solves that creatively, not only with a superb --jazzy even--reading of the text by James "D Train" Williams (his enthusiastic but controlled narrative brims with the personalities of the musicians and their music), but with examples of the music by a very talented septet! You can hear the splash bomb drumming of Art Blakey, the lush grandeur of Duke Ellington, the boppish output of Mingus, Charlie "Bird" Parker, and Dizzy. These samplings, long enough to give one a real feeling for the style and sound, alternate with Williams' narration, and the sound effects (the hushed introduction of a mythical nightclub that helps identify the musician), the thunderous and very life-sounding applause) both mesh with and intensify the excitement of the book: You really feel like you're there! The book/CD combination is as fine an example of immersion education as you'll hear, see, and especially feel. Like the book, the CD can be enjoyed at several levels of musical knowledge and cognitive development. Toddlers will enjoy the jazzy text and bright pictures (as well as learning the numbers from one to ten) accompanied by the synchronized CD (there is a brief page-turning sound to cue the parent, teacher, or designated student page-flipper to turn the page). Older elementary school kids can enjoy the same experience, or can listen to a second track that excludes the page-turn cue. Moreover, there is a third track with more information about jazz and the featured musicians. This is a rare opportunity to teach your child or your classroom that music is a living thing of beauty,color, and joy; a swinging endeavor that evolves with both artist and audience. Note: Since writing the review below, I've discovered that "This Jazz Man" has received three (and counting) prestigious honors in the last month or so: A Nick Jr. Book of the Year for Children, one of the N.Y. Public Libraries Top 100 books to Read to Kids, and one of a very few named by National Public Radio as a best children's book of the year! February 2007 Update: This Jazz Man is on the cover of the February "Crickets" magazine! In addition, it was shortlisted as a top book by the Cooperative Children's Book Center, and is being used as a teaching tool for a Smithsonian Museum (yes, that Smithsonian!) exhibit. If you've bought this book, you and I share a certain nose for kids' books; if you haven't, you'll discover a book that's snappy and swinging, fun and informative. My original review follows. "Doodly-doodly-Doot-doot! Toot-Toot!" That's Karen Ehrhardt's delightful take on a Dizzy Gillespie trumpet line, and like the rest o