Duke Ellington - Picture Book #15

Duke Ellington

Author: Andrea Davis Pinkney
Illustrator: Brian Pinkney

Coretta Scott King Award WInner & Caldecott Honor Book

Publisher: Scholastic Inc. New York, 1999

Genre: Biographical Fiction

Themes: Music, bands, instruments, performing

Primary Characters: Duke Ellington

Secondary Characters: May

Summary:

     This book follows the growth and development of Duke Ellington as a performer.  You wouldn't know it but he did not want to play the piano as a child.  It wasn't until years later that Duke heard ragtime and fell in love with music.  He then became dedicated and played all over.  The illustrations in this book are magnificent as they colorfully depict Duke's journey.  He was even one of the first black musicians in Carnegie Hall.  There is a factual page at the end of the story that gives direct information on Duke, his music, and his bandmates.


This is a wonderful book to use when exploring different types of biographies.  It is not the typical biography discussed in school yet still gives factual information.