| Title | : | Charlie Parker Played Be Bop |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 043957823X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780439578233 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Board Book |
| Number of Pages | : | 14 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1992 |
Ever hear of Charlie Parker? The great jazz saxophone player? If you have or if you haven't, it's okay. Look at this board book and you'll hear Charlie Parker; you'll hear music in your mind.
"Be bop. Fisk, fisk. Lollipop. Boomba, boomba."
Look. That's Charlie swinging and spinning all over the pages. And that's Charlie's cat, waiting, waiting for him to come home....
Charlie Parker Played Be Bop Reviews
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I really couldn't connect with this book, and I LOVE jazz. I'm sure if it's read right, it'll be a great book. But I tried reading it several times and I just wasn't getting it. It made no sense to me.
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You have to really make this book your own in order for it to work. Sing the words, look up Youtube videos of teachers and librarians reading it aloud. Kids get into it if you do too! It's a great introduction to jazz and early rock and roll for grade school kids - it demonstrates the off-the-cuff style of be bop in an accessible way.
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So much fun at both baby/toddler and preschool storytimes. Very playful and unique. I love how Raschka conveys the essence of music for the very youngest kids, in both words and pictures.
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Absolutely phenomenal - the audiobook is a must-have, brilliantly read / performed by Richard Allen.
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I need to find the audiobook for this book.
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kids I've read this with have adored it because of all the sound effects. it could have better illustrations but the language and rhythm are amazing.
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Oh, aren't we hip, schoolin' tiny kids about jazz....or at least telling ourselves that we are.
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This would be a perfect bedtime book for a small child. I wasn't thrilled with the story, but I would imagine that a small child would enjoy the rhythm of the book. It was short and I'm not really sure why the cat was involved the book at all.
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This book's narrative is meant to be read as though you were listening to be bop, making it an interesting and almost multi-media read! That being said, it also might be a little jarring if you're not expecting this to be such an abstract picturebook! But Chris Raschka does it again and combines both his incredible illustrations with a stylistic tone of narration. It's a celebration of the genre, and of Charlie Parker. Great for grades K-2.
Review cross-listed
here! -
Book type: Picture storybook
Intended audience: three year olds to five year olds. Preschool.
The first time I read this book I was completely unimpressed. I saw this, but then I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since. I gave someone a pile of fifty biographies for children in the age range of 4-8 years old. Two weeks later, that person, too, asked me the name of this book. I never even knew that there was a picture book genre about music. I'm glad there is. I think it would be fun to do a series of picture books about musicians and play their music in the background. See my list of pairings below. This book is simple and fun and could really be used to help a group of four year olds appreciate words, books, music, jazz, art, and dance. You can't say that about just any book.
Lessons:
--Music recognition
--Words
--Dance and movement
--Theater
Note: April is jazz appreciation month, and there is a CD that comes with this book in which the author reads the book and there are Parker musical selections.
Lesson Implementation:
--Play Charlie Parker in the background and then create a reader's theater where each child reads each page aloud. Practice until memorized. Would like to see final result.
Book Pairings:
--Before John Was a Jazz Giant: A Song of John Coltrane, Carole Boston Weatherford (Author), Sean Qualls (Illustrator)
--Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio and Javaka Steptoe
--John's Secret Dreams : The Life of John Lennon Doreen Rappaport (Author), Bryan Collier (Author)
--When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat, Muriel Harris Weinstein
--What Charlie Heard, Mordicai Gerstein
--When Marian Sang, Pam Munoz Ryan -
There are a few books that I find myself buying over and over again. I always end up giving away my copy, or thinking of another person who *needs* to have it. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop is definitely in that category.
On the surface, Chris Raschka's illustrations are so full of color and whimsy that you want to linger on each page a moment, just to breathe it in. But beyond that, Charlie Parker Played Be Bop is one of those rare books that can actually make you feel what the author is describing (in this case, be bop).
In some ways (like be bop), there's not much to it. There are rarely more than 5 or 6 words per page, and many of the phrases are repeated over and over again. But Raschka uses rhythm and rhyme in ways that are both satisfyingly predictable and completely surprising. By the time you get to...
Alphabet, alphabet, alphabet, alph,
Chickadee, chickadee, chickadee, chick,
Overshoes, overshoes, overshoes, o,
Reeti-footi, reeti-footi, reeti-footie, ree
...you can practically hear the saxophone in your ear and you want to tap your foot and dance along. It's impossible to read this book out loud and not start to put some *swing* into it. Every single time I have read this book to my students they immediately respond with a resounding, "Read it again!" -
I just discovered this book, and I wish I had known of it earlier! Loved it! I read along as I listened to the audio CD the author released in 2000 with jazz vocalist Richard Allen (Live Oak Media—a different ISBN for some reason, which was illegible on the library CD). The audio recording really helps to fully appreciate the book, unless you have a natural sense of be bop jazz and scat singing. This genre works best when background information is included, and since the edition I read had none, the CD helps to provide the context to understand be bop and the significance of Charlie Parker’s career.
The author was inspired by the jazz classic A Night in Tunisia, by Dizzy Gillespie. The recording features the author’s commentary, Allen’s performance of the text with Charlie Parker’s performance, and also the full uncut performance by Parker, Gillespie and others. This book not only provides an opportunity to enjoy be bop, but Allen’s performance supports young reader’s phonemic awareness development through the sheer fun of language and be bop scat singing. Although it is best for 6 and under, the book has appeal (through repeated performances) for older students who enjoy singing and having fun with nonsense syllables, rhythm and rhyme. -
this is probably one of my favorite all-time books to read to my children. it has been a favorite around our house for years, and to all of my children. the playful, nonsensical narrative echoes the phrasing, rhythm, and playfulness of charlie parker's music -- or any bebop for that matter. this book is a wonderful early tool for nurturing music appreciation, individuality, creativity, humor, and general silliness. the artwork beautifully complements the narrative, which, i meant to add, absolutely requires that you perform and improvise. like a piece of sheet music, the book can run the gamut from good to great, depending on the enthusiasm, ear, and improvisational abilities of you, the reader.
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Great paintings of Parker with music spiraling inside him, coming up and out of his saxaphone and filling the air; (Raschka is a master of perspective and foreshortening, catching Bird all all kinds of angles). At moments the conceptual nature of the book seems to come undone. However, the whimsical appearance of birds adopting all kinds of different poses and disguises and the brooding cat don't so much play out a storyline as give the feeling of Parker's playing - any attempt to turn this linear will be frustrating and make the book a disappointment. I can see how reading this out loud with a lapsitter would be a great experience. Be bop! (First read September 2012)
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Hmm. I think this is stretching a little - I'm not sure that children would be able to get the concept (I'm not entirely sure I did!) or that the book would keep them interested.
Ages: 3 - 6
**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it! Visit my website: The Book Radar. -
How did I miss this FANTASTIC 1992 picture biography of Charlie Parker? How cool is the text to inspire both adults and the youngest of young? Yes, you can read this to babies and toddlers. They will dance to it! "Be bop. Fisk, fisk. Lollipop. Boomba, boomba. Bus stop. Zznnzznn. Boppitty, bibbitty, bop..." Thank you, my friend Margaret, for introducing me to this author. Never leave your cat alone.
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When I shared Bird & Diz with one of my classes last week, I played Salt Peanuts! for them and it added another dimension to the read aloud. I remembered how while I loved Chris Raschka's Charlie Parker Played Be Bop, it wasn't until I heard the audio that I truly appreciated what Raschka did with the text. I dug it out of my personal archives, dusted it off and shared it with my students, who dug it.
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no, no, no. I can't ... even ... with this book. I consider myself a fairly musical & rhythm and beats type of person but I just didn't understand this book one bit. I even looked up a few videos on YouTube to see how I was supposed to read it out loud. the lyrics don't make sense, the beat is all over the place, and I just don't get it. zero stars if I could. sorry if it's the unpopular opinion.
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Once I learned how to read this in a be-bop rhythm I was amazed by its subtle brilliance. I love reading this book aloud to my kids -- it is really only to be read aloud with pizazz and expression -- otherwise you won't get it and it will fall flat.
I read it to my soc classes as an opener in classes on language and power. -
*Note: This is not an actual biography but it is about the jazz musician Charlie Parker.
Raschka does it again! He creatively uses onomatopoeias, phrases, varied font styles, and text placement to tell a story that reads like lyrics of a jazz song. His bold illustrations add to the musical flow of the fun jazzy text. -
This was not one of my favorite books. I didn't enjoy the randomness at all, and I eventually forgot what I was reading. Chris Raschka is known for writing quirky stories, but this was something that I wouldn't read in class. However, it could be used for a thematic lesson on music, and students can discuss the different instruments in the book.
