Who Was Louis Armstong?

Who Was? Book (Biography)

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Justification: This text was selected from the Who Was children's biography series based on my love of jazz and interest in learning more about Louis Armstrong. I also wanted to pull focus on a person of color for my selection to include diversity. An example of a good biography for children is a text about real people doing real things and they can inspire the reader to dream big. The biography of Louis Armstrong does just that; it starts out as a story about an ordinary boy who overcame obstacles, honed his craft, and grew up to do extraordinary things.

Evaluation: An illustrated biography using crude sketches in pen and ink tells the life of Louis Armstrong. We start from his humble beginnings in New Orleans in the early 1900's all the way through his critical acclaim as a jazz master. Unlike a traditional biography, there is at least one sketch/drawing on every page of the book which help make it appealing for children. These drawings help to make the content of the biography more accessible and they help ease the reader into the text.

After struggling with discipline in his youth, Louis was sent to a boys reform home where his musical talents were nurtured by his professor and band leader. After the home, Louis worked during the day and played music at night at the age of 14. In his youth he honed his skills as a cornet player (a brass instrument resembling a trumpet but shorter and wider, and with a mellower tone). Armstrong famously said: "When a...player...'feels' the music taking hold of him so strong...he can [take the]...rhythms and toss them around as he wants to without losing his way." Like thousands of African Americans at this time, Armstrong participated in the Great Migration to the North. He landed in Chicago as a stepping stone on his way to New York City. At 23, Louis switched instruments from the cornet to the trumpet. Two years later he earned the illustrious title of the King of Jazz.

This Who Was book is interspersed with callouts, or explanatory text in boxes woven into the biography itself. These vignettes offer a deeper look into the history at the time of Armstrong's life and also offer definitions of popular jazz styles and access to new terminology. The callouts provide an opportunity for the reader to dig below the surface to learn more about such topics as: Jim Crow Laws, The Great Migration, African Americans in Jazz and Blues, Popular Jazz Terms, and Big Bands vs. Jazz Bands.

Conclusion: Yona Zeldis McDonough makes the story of Louis Armstrong leap off the page and come alive. This biography is an important one to have in a children's literature collection. The way the story of Louis Armstrong is told is not prescriptive or pedantic. It presents information as fact in an engaging and fun way.

Reference: McDonough, Y. Z., & O'Brien, J. (2004). Who was Louis Armstrong?. New York: Grosset & Dunlap.