Mahalia Jackson had a fondness for gospel music from a young age and found joy singing in church. Although she had to work hard as a maid to save money and faced a difficult transition when she moved to Chicago, Jackson continued to sing gospel throughout her life and eventually began to be noticed. After making her first record and rising to success, she was found singing on the radio and jukebox, on TV shows and movies, in Carnegie Hall, and even at the March on Washington. ( )

MAHALIA JACKSON: WALKING WITH KINGS AND QUEENS details the life of Mahalia Jackson. Starting off in poverty, Mahalia Jackson grows to become an inspiration and known as the Queen of Gospel. This story is especially great for NOLA schools, depicting an inspirational African American local figure and her great achievements. Her love for music and talent is evident throughout the book. I really love the deep colors used in the illustrations, especially the frequent use of deep purple, which gives the book a regal feeling. After all, she is the QUEEN of Gospel. I appreciated the chronology of her life events at the end of the book, giving more detail about the events of Mahalia Jackson's life. ( )

While reading I learned something about Mahalia Jackson, I learned that she was a gospel singer. I had heard of her many times before but I never knew that she was a gospel singer. The first words of this book spoke volumes to me as it shed light that Mahalia was born in poverty. What spoke even louder was the fact that she had a voice and used it for singing and relating positive messages to others through her singing. Music is very influential and Mahalia learned that the "right" music is key to a positive life when she stopped singing in night clubs. I wish the book had given me a little more information about her story, just little details, like emotions of not being in school, or where was her father. he use of more expressive words would have added a nice touch as well. The illustrations through the book was a very good portrayal of what was happening. This book was okay, I learned something and enjoyed reading about Mahalia Jackson. ( )

The biography about Mahalia Jackson is all about how music has been an influence in her life, and how it eventually gave her a career. The book starts with Mahalia Jackson as a child, and goes on to her as an adult at the prime time in her career. 1. Mahalia Jackson moved to Chicago at age 16 to have a better life, one that provided her more opportunities for music and school. 2. Mahalia Jackson dropped out of school in 4th grade to help take care of the babies in her family. 3. Mahalia Jackson eventually went back to school when she was in Chicago, but had to drop out once again to take care of more family members. 4. Gospel music was Mahalia Jackson choice of genre that she sung whenever she had the opportunity, and it was the genre of music that she became famous for. The Mahalia Jackson Theatre in New Orleans was named after her in 1993. ( )

I did some light research on Mahalia a couple months ago because her name is all over NOLA, and I wanted to know who she was. This book enlightened me, so I'm glad it was in the library. Mahalia was a girl from New Orleans and woman of her word. She struggled for longer than she had to because she promised God she wouldn't go back to a club. She made her first gospel record around the age of twenty-five and is considered the queen of gospel. ( )