Little Melba and Her Big Trombone
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)
NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
A biography of African American jazz virtuoso Melba Doretta Liston, a pioneering twentieth-century trombone player, composer, and music arranger at a time when few women, of any race, played brass instruments and were part of the jazz scene.
Melba Doretta Liston loved the sounds of music from as far back as she could remember. As a child, she daydreamed about beats and lyrics, and hummed along with the music from her family's Majestic radio.
At age seven, Melba fell in love with a big, shiny trombone, and soon taught herself to play the instrument. By the time she was a teenager, Melba's extraordinary gift for music led her to the world of jazz. She joined a band led by trumpet player Gerald Wilson and toured the country. Overcoming obstacles of race and gender, Melba went on to become a famed trombone player and arranger, spinning rhythms, harmonies, and melodies into gorgeous songs for all the jazz greats of the twentieth century: Randy Weston, Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Billie Holiday, and Quincy Jones, to name just a few.
Brimming with ebullience and the joy of making music, Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a fitting tribute to a trailblazing musician and a great unsung hero of jazz.
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Katheryn Russell-Brown is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Center for Race and Race Relations at the University of Florida. She grew up in a family of music lovers, where jazz was an integral part of the sounds of daily life. A radio broadcast in 2008 about Liston inspired Russell-Brown to research the musician and eventually to write Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, her first picture book. Russell-Brown lives in Gainesville, Florida, with her family. Visit her online at krbrown.net.
Frank Morrison has illustrated numerous award-winning books, including the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor winner Little Melba and Her Big Trombone, published by Lee & Low Books. Before becoming an illustrator, Morrison was a graffiti artist and b-boy. Morrison lives with his family in Georgia. You can learn more about him at morrisongraphics.com.
* "Russell-Brown's debut text has an innate musicality, mixing judicious use of onomatopoeia with often sonorous prose. Morrison's sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba's story. . . Readers will agree that 'Melba Doretta Liston was something special.'" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Music lovers will enjoy this picture-book biography of Melba Liston (1926-1999), child prodigy and virtuoso trombonist who collaborated with most 20th century jazz greats. An excellent match of breezy text and dynamic illustrations tells an exhilarating story. . . A celebration of the talent and success of a little-known African American female musician, this title will enrich library collections." -- School Library Journal, starred review
* "Staccato rhythms pepper the fluid prose . . . Morrison's oil paintings practically sway with a jazz beat, though somber moments crop up, too: the shadows on Liston's face signify the trials of life on the road. A final image showing long-limbed Liston in profile as she plays under the glow of stage lights is exquisite." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review
"In a smoothly passed narrative, this picture-book biography surveys the full life arc of a relatively unknown and unique jazz master. Brimming with inherent and inescapable enthusiasm, the oil-painting illustrations are the cat's pajamas, with brassy colors and jazzy perspectives that slide across the long pages, like Melba's own instrument." -- Booklist
Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)
NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
ALSC Notable Children's Books - American Library Association (ALA)
Amelia Bloomer Book List - American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books - Kirkus Reviews
Best Books of the Year - School Library Journal
Best Children's Books of the Year Outstanding - Bank Street College of Education
Best Multicultural Books - Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature
Best of the Best Books - Chicago Public Library
Black-Eyed Susan Award - Maryland Association of School Librarians
CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Delaware Diamonds Awards - Diamond State Reading Association
Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award - California Reading Association
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice - State Library of Louisiana
Notable Books for a Global Society - International Literacy Association (ILA)
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Recommended - National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
