Charlie Parker Played Be Bop

It would seem a riddle worthy of the sphinx: how do you give children a sense of jazz music without playing a note? Chris Raschka answers loudly and clearly with the illustrated, syncopated Charlie Parker Played Be Bop . This sparse, rhythmic, repetitive text (inspired by a recording of Parker's "A Night in Tunisia") embraces and reflects the sound and feel of jazz when read aloud: "Charlie Parker played be bop. / Charlie Parker played saxophone. / The music sounded like be bop. / Never leave your cat alone." Whether in complete phrases or in nonsense refrains that taste like music in your mouth ("Alphabet alphabet, alphabet, alph, / Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee, chick, / Overshoes, overshoes, overshoes, o, / Reeti-footi, reeti-footi, reeti-footi, ree."), Raschka brings melody to the page, and rhythm to eager ears. Raschka, whose Yo! Yes? won a Caldecott Honor, and whose Mysterious Thelonious --another ebullient, musical exploration of a jazz legend--was named a 1997 ALA Notable Book, proves once again that he is just as at home with a paintbrush as he is with a pen. His bold, quirky illustrations add movement and light to the words, buoying their already lyrical effect. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop is a colorful, whimsical romp through the world of jazz, sure to set young and old toes a-tapping. (Ages 4 to 8) --Brangien Davis From Publishers Weekly Regardless of whether they've heard of jazz or Charlie Parker, young readers will bop to the pulsating beat of this sassy picture book. In a daring attempt to capture the raw energy of Parker's music (and in language recalling the verbal theatrics of Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault), Raschka combines a text that's as lean as a poem and as mean as a blues refrain ("Charlie Parker played be bop. / Charlie Parker played no trombone. / The music sounded like be bop. / Barbecue that last leg bone") with vigorously skewed illustrations gleaming with sly wit. Even the typeface joins in the fun, as italics and boldface strut and swing across the pages. Those in the know will enjoy the inside jokes (the pages, for example, are decorated with birds, after Parker's nickname); young and old alike will find this a read-aloud that's hard to resist. And that's no jive. Ages 3-6. Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 2-- Despite its appealing, rhythmic cadence, this book doesn't evoke the music of Charlie Parker. The watercolor and charcoal pencil illustrations are funky and funny, but sometimes confounding. In particular, the characterization of Parker is overly stylized, resulting in a caricature rather than a character. The story line--of the musician's cat waiting for him to come home--will be lost on young readers; in fact, it will be apparent only to those reading the flap copy. Nicely designed, the layout makes effective use of different typefaces and appropriate sound words (``The music sounded like be bop . . . overshoes, overshoes, overshoes, o, . . . ''), but the nonsense phrases only increase the general confusion (``Barbeque that last leg bone . . . .''), as do some of the illustrations, particularly a boot with feet that ``hip hops'' through the pages. There is also an upside-down illustration of Parker that looks more like a mistake than a variation on the theme. This is an intriguing, but ultimately unsuccessful, attempt to illuminate jazz for young readers, who would be served far better by books like Thacher Hurd's upbeat Mama Don't Allow (HarperCollins, 1984) or Rachel Isadora's Ben's Trumpet (Greenwillow, 1979). --Cyrisse Jaffee, Newton Public Schools, MACopyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. From Kirkus Reviews A brief, rhythmic text printed in different styles and varied with playful onomatopoeia recalls the humor and cadences of a great jazz musician: ``...Charlie Parker played saxophone./The music sounded like be bop./Never leave your cat alone./Be bop./Fisk, fisk./Lollipop./Boomba, boomba./Bus stop./Zznnzznn./Boppity, bibbitty, bop. BANG!'' The equally evocative art is rendered in rough charcoal with watercolors added. Like Polacco, Raschka uses a vigorous line and angular perspectives to give his figures extraordinary energy; creating jaunty, fantastical creatures to move with the beat, he draws on Parker's nickname (``Bird'') and words from his songs (e.g., ``lollipop'' and ``bus stop'' above). The musician himself is depicted as heavy-eyed and intent; the monumental, solitary cat is a powerful counterpoint. A curiosity, witty and offbeat. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 3+) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Chris Raschka is the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator of A BALL FOR DAISY and THE HELLO, GOODBYE WINDOW. He is also the illustrator of YO! YES? (which won a Caldecott Honor), SOURPUSS AND SWEETIE PIE, CHARLIE PARKER PLAYED BE BOP, and FARMY FARM. He lives with his wife and son in New York City. Read more