Play, Louis, Play!

TITLE: Play, Louis, Play!:  The True Story of a Boy and His Horn
AUTHOR: Muriel Harris Weinstein
ILLUSTRATOR:  Frank Morrison
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury USA
COPYRIGHT:

Learn about the childhood of famous musician Louis Armstrong in this book.  It is creatively written from the perspective of his horn!  It tells how young Louis worked to make money for his family and the role music played in his life.

This chapter book would be enjoyable for elementary aged children. It is easy to follow the story and enjoyable as well because it is written from the horn's perspective.

My son and I read this book together because it was on the Texas Bluebonnet list.  We both enjoyed the story and thought it was well-written.

Fifty Cents and a Dream

TITLE: Fifty Cents and a Dream Young Booker T. Washington
AUTHOR:  Jabari Asim
ILLUSTRATOR:  Bryan Collier
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown and Company
COPYRIGHT:  2012

Booker T. Washington had a desire and dream to learn to read and write.  This book shows the determination he had to make his dream come true as he traveled 500 miles to Hampton Institute.  It was his dream but he also thought of  others along the way who had the same dream.

The illustrations are done with watercolor and collage.  Also, the endpages have been copied from sample pages of a book Booker received from his mother called The American Spelling Book by Noah Webster. 

This inspirational story would be appropriate for elementary aged children.