Thursday, May 14, 2015

Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm by Karen Deans –ADVISABLE

Deans, Karen Swing Sisters: The Story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm Holiday House, 2015. $16.95 PICTURE BOOK/NON-FICTION
The story of this musical group starts out in an orphanage in the early 1900s. It’s a special place called the Piney Woods Country Life School, it was created to provide a wonderful place for African American orphans to live. At this school the students learned, worked, and played lots of swing/big-band music. Eventually it became a career for many of the girls and they toured by bus sharing their music, in an era that forced them to face prejudice, racism and sexism.
This would be a great book to add to a collection for a music teacher. I don’t think a student would check this out on their own, it really needs the foundation, music clips, and interaction that a teacher can provide. The illustrations were bright and beautiful and it was a wonderful read!
EL  –ADVISABLE Reviewer: Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author.

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