This book depicts the life of John Coltrane through artistic images of a young boy. This is primarily done through silhouettes and contrasting colors. I would recommend this book to not only general elementary school students, but students who love music as well. I honestly think that this book could change students' lives because of the story it tells. ( )

This is a lovely book regarding young jazz composer John Coltrane. Creatively illustrated and focusing on the musician as a young boy and the things that spoke to him to create incredible music. ( )

Vivid imagery and simple text describe the everyday sounds that influenced the young John Coltrane and ultimately shaped his music. Author’s Note, Selected Listening, Further Reading.

I love that this book is mainly about John Coltrane growing up. We often read about the great things people have done, but how did they get there? What were they like as a child? This story provides that information to help children relate more the man, but as a child. The images are amazing and abstract, some look like paintings, and some are more like a collage but they are so vivid and descriptive. ( )

I enjoyed the book very much because of how the story progressed. It was a unique approach to start a story about a boy playing a instrument at a point where he was not playing an instrument at all but was listening to music around him. The different characters in the book were involved in music and shared their music with him. The illustrations were amazing and represented the jazz culture very well. The overall message of the book seemed to be that John was able to learn music because he listened first and watched people around him to get a base knowledge. That concept is important for children to learn and the book does a thorough job at representing that. ( )