This is the third novel in the jazz series for juveniles. The reader follows a 19 year old African-American girl singer. In this fictional account, she meets real-life characters such as bandleader William “Count” Basie, Lester “Pres” Young, drummer Jo Jones, vocalists Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, trumpeter Harry “Sweets” Edison, and saxophonist Buddy Tate.
In the course of the book, she encounters some racial prejudice herself. And she meets a friend, who as a Jew in Nazi Germany, had experienced that brand of hatred and oppression.
It is well-written and appropriate for middle and early high school students. As with Carlon’s previous books, it conveys the author’s enthusiasm for the music and its players.
Carlon’s previous novels for juveniles were Riding Duke’s Train and Travels With Louis, also published by Leapfrog Press. Carlon is a high school and middle school English teacher who lives on Cape Cod.
Girl Singer
by Mick Carlon Leapfrog Press (www.leapfrogpress.com) $15.95 160 pages • ISBN: 978-1935248736 • Trade paperback, $15.95
