Here’s what’s on the 2018 Department of Ed lists. I’ll let you know when the .pdfs go up on the Governor’s Summer Reading Challenge site. Tomorrow I will send out a spreadsheet with ISBNs, and other bibliographic info. But for now, take a peek!

Linda

GRADES K-2

PICTURE BOOKS

Tap Tap Boom Boom by Elizabeth Bluemle illustrated by G. Brian Karas

As a thunderstorm sweeps into the city, the people of the neighborhood rush into the subway to wait out the wind and weather.| ALA, NCTE | Lexile:

The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! by Carmen Agra Deedy, illustrated by Eugene Yelchin

Elected mayor of La Paz for his promise to make things more peaceful, Don Pepe outlaws singing until a rooster begins crowing persistently and will not stop, even though Don Pepe makes life very difficult for him.. | NCTE, Nutmeg 2019 Lexile: 550

Drum Dream Girl: How One Girl’s Courage Changed Music by Margarita Engle, illustrated by Rafael López

Follows a girl in the 1920s as she strives to become a drummer, despite being continually reminded that only boys play the drums, and that there has never been a female drummer in Cuba. | ALA, ILA, NCSS

Gabriella's Song by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Giselle Potter

A young girl finds music all around her as she walks about the city of Venice, Italy, and she shares her song with everyone she meets. | NCTE | Lexile: 630

The Sound of Silence by Katrina Goldsaito

Yoshio delights in the everyday sounds of Tokyo, but when a musician tells him that her favorite sound is ma, the Japanese word for silence, Yoshio sets out to hear this sound for himself among the hustle and bustle of the city. Includes information on the Japanese concept of ma. | ALA, NCTE | Lexile: 700

Ben's Trumpet by Rachel Isadora
Ben wants to be a trumpeter, but plays only an imaginary instrument until one of the musicians in a neighborhood night club discovers his ambition. | ALA | Lexile: 530

The Bear and the Piano by David Litchfield

A bear finds a piano in the woods, learns to play it, and travels to the big city to become rich and famous, but ultimately discovers that his old friends in the forest back home are still the best audience of all. |  | Lexile: 620

The Nuts: Sing and Dance in Your Polka-Dot Pants by Eric Litwin, illustrated by Scott Magoon

Hazel Nut wants to sing and dance, but Mama, Papa, and Wally Nut are too busy, so Hazel calls in a special family member to get everyone moving. | ILA | Lexile: 300

Moses Goes to a Concert by Isaac Millman

Moses and his schoolmates, all deaf, attend a concert where the orchestra's percussionist is also deaf. Includes illustrations in sign language and a page showing the manual alphabet. | NCSS | Lexile: 670

Ketzel, the Cat Who Composed by Leslea Newman, illustrated by Amy June Bates (2015)

Enjoying life in a noisy city where everything he hears is music, composer Moshe Cotel adopts a stray tuxedo kitten who walks across his piano keys, inspiring a celebrated one-minute composition. | Sydney Taylor Award | Lexile: 730

If You Ever Want to Bring a Piano to the Beach, Don’t! by Elise Parsley

Magnolia is a little girl with a big idea, determination, and one very heavy upright piano that she insists on taking with her to the beach, but in a series of mishaps, Magnolia quickly learns that a piano does not mix well with sand, sun, and seagulls. | ILA | Lexile: 510

I Got the Rhythm by Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison (2014)

On a trip to the park with her mother, a young girl hears a rhythm coming from the world around her and begins to move to the beat, finally beginning an impromptu dance in which other childen join her. | Lexile: 170

The Man with the Violin by Kathy Stinson , illustrated by Dusan Petricic

When Dylan hears someone playing their violin in the subway he wants to stop and listen, but his mother and other commuters ignore the violinist completely. | ILA | Lexile: 620

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler

Baby and his family make some jazzy music. | ALA |

SONGS

America the Beautiful by Katharine Bates, illustrated by Wendell Minor

An illustrated edition of the nineteenth-century poem, later set to music, celebrating the beauty of America. | NCSS, Connecticut Illustrator | Lexile: 500

The Wheels on the Tuk Tuk by Kabir & Surishtha Sehgal, illustrated by Jess Golden

In this twist on the classic song "The Wheels on the Bus," the wheels on the tuk tuk go round and round all over the city in India. | NCSS | Lexile: 370

NONFICTION

Music Everywhere! by Maya Ajmera (2014)

Photographs from around the world celebrate the universal joy that kids get from making music, whether they’re playing instruments, clapping their hands, stomping their feet, or singing. Music can help express one child’s feelings—or it can bring a whole community together. | Lexile: 330

Frog Song by Brenda Z. Guiberson, illustrated by Gennady Spirin

Discusses the songs of many different frogs from all parts of the globe. | NCSS, NSTA | Lexile: 950

Ada’s Violin: The Story of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay by Susan Hood, illustrated by Sally Wern Comport

A town built on a landfill. A community in need of hope. A girl with a dream. A man with a vision. An ingenious idea. | Nutmeg 2019, E.B.White Read Aloud Award, Connecticut Author | Lexile: 820

BIOGRAPHY

Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, illustrated by Bryan Collier

A Grammy-nominated headliner for the New Orleans Jazz Fest describes his childhood in Tremâe and how he came to be a bandleader by age six. | Lexile: 760

Tito Puente: Mambo King = Rey del Mambo by Monica Brown, illustrated by Rafael López

A celebration of the life and music of the man known as the "King of the Mambo" and the "Godfather of Salsa" covers his boyhood in New York and his years as a musician and bandleader, and highlights the pleasure he gave listeners. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 620

Charlie Parker Played Be Bop by Chris Raschka

Introduces the famous saxophonist and his style of jazz known as bebop. | ALA, ILA   | Lexile: 250

Little Melba and her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown, illustrated by Frank Morrison

A biography of African American musician Melba Doretta Liston, a virtuoso musician who played the trombone and composed and arranged music for many of the great jazz musicians of the twentieth century. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 780

Listen: How Pete Seeger Got America Singing by Leda Schubert, illustrated by Raul Colon

A tribute to legendary musician and activist Pete Seeger, highlighting the  major musical events in Mr. Seeger's life as well important moments of his fight against social injustice.

Esquivel!: Space-Age Sound Artist by Susan Wood, illustrated by Duncan Tonatiuh

Describes how Juan Garcia Esquivel, a Mexican composer popular in the 1950s and 1960s, developed his experimental style of music, based on mariachi and other Mexican music, jazz, the human voice, and the use of unusual instruments. |  ALA | Lexile: 910

GRADES 3-4

PICTURE BOOKS

A Band of Angels: A Story Inspired by the Jubilee Singers by Deborah Hopkinson, illustrated by Raul Colon

The daughter of a slave forms a gospel singing group and goes on tour to raise money to save Fisk University. | ALA, NCTE | Lexile: 740

A Symphony of Whales by Steve Schuch, illustrated by Peter Sylvada

Young Glashka's dream of the singing of whales, accompanied by a special kind of music, leads to the rescue of thousands of whales stranded in a freezing Siberian bay. | NCSS, NSTA | Lexile: 600

Hana Hashimoto, Sixth Violin by Chieri Uegaki, illustrated by Qin Leng (2014)

With the help of her memories of the time she spent in Japan with her ojiichan, which is a professional violinist, a young girl named Hana practices and practices playing her violin for her school talent show. | ILA, Nutmeg 2017 | Lexile: 930

CHAPTER BOOKS

John Lincoln Clem: a Civil War Drummer Boy by E. F. Abbott

A fictional retelling of the legend of John Clem, who ran away from his Ohio home to become a drummer boy during the Civil War, and became famous when he was captured in 1863 and was exchanged after a short stay in Andersonville prison. | NCSS, Connecticut Author | Lexile: 680

Little Rat Makes Music by Monika Bang Campbell

Little Rat loves the violin but hates to practice, until her teacher suggests she perform a duet with one of the advanced students at the holiday concert. | ALA | Lexile: 520

The Song from Somewhere Else by A. F. Harrold, illustrated by Levi Pinfold

Saved from bullies by the class misfit, Nick, Frank is drawn to Nick's house by strange music, discovers he has incredible secrets that bring danger, and decides to help him as he helped her. | Lexile: 690

Dear Hank Williams by Kimberly Willis Holt

In Rippling Creek, Louisiana, in 1948, eleven-year-old Tate writes letters to her favorite country singer, sharing her dreams of becoming a singer and revealing that her mother is in prison. | VOYA Perfect Tens | Lexile: 820

Fly Away by Patricia MacLachlan

While in North Dakota helping her Aunt Frankie prepare for a possible flood, Lucy finds her voice as a poet with the help of her two-year-old brother Teddy, the rest of their family, and a few cows. | ILA, Connecticut Author | Lexile: 490

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez

Twelve-year-old María Luisa O'Neill-Morales (who really prefers to be called Malú) reluctantly moves with her Mexican-American mother to Chicago and starts seventh grade with a bang--violating the dress code with her punk rock aesthetic and spurning the middle school's most popular girl in favor of starting a band with a group of like-minded weirdos. | ALA | Lexile: 670

Sydney & Simon: Go Green! by Paul A. Reynolds, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds

After discovering that a green sea turtle was harmed by plastic in the ocean, twin mice Sydney and Simon come up with a creative campaign to increase recycling and reduce the amount of trash created in their home, school, and town. | Lexile:  750

The Way to Stay in Destiny by Augusta Scattergood

Sixth-grader Theo leaves everything behind to live with his Uncle Chester, a Vietnam War veteran and loner, in Destiny, Florida, but he is drawn to play the piano in Miss Sister's dance school and soon makes friends with the feisty Anabel, a baseball fanatic who invites Theo to help solve a mystery. | Lexile: 650

A Crooked Kind of Perfect by Linda Urban

Ten-year-old Zoe Elias, who longs to play the piano but must resign herself to learning the organ, instead, finds that her musicianship has a positive impact on her workaholic mother, her jittery father, and her school social life. | Lexile: 730

POETRY

Under the Mambo Moon by Julia Durango

Contains poems about the different people who stop by Marisol's father's music store on a hot summer night, looking for just the right songs to make their hearts fly home. | NCSS | Lexile: 840

Hip Hop Speaks to Children: A Celebration of Poetry with a Beat by Nikki Giovanni

More than 50 poems and an accompanying CD introduce poetry with a beat. | NCTE

NONFICTION

Soldier Song: A True Story of the Civil War by Debbie Levy, illustrated by Gilbert Ford

Provides an account of the important role of songs in rallying Union and Confederate troops during the American Civil War. | NCSS

Let’s Clap, Jump, Sing, & Shout; Dance, Spin, & Turn it Out!: Games, Songs, & Stories from an African American Childhood by Pat McKissack, illustrated by J. Brian Pinkney

A collection of classic, culturally inspired hand clap games, circle games, songs and poems, including "Eenie, Meenie Sassafreeny," "Little Sally Walker" and "Amazing Grace." | Lexile: 990

The Beatles Were Fab (And They Were Funny) by Kathleen Krull & Paul Brewer, illustrated by Stacy Innerst (2013)

Chronicles the legendary band's rise to prominence and highlights the humor of each member. | NCTE | Lexile: 860

BIOGRAPHY

Red Bird Sings: The Story of Zitkala-Sa, Native American Author, Musician, and Activist by Gina Capaldi, illustrated by Q. L. Pearce

Insight into the life of Gertrude Simmons, a Native American girl who left the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota for a boarding school in Indiana at age eight, learned to express herself through music and words, and went on to become an activist for Native American rights. | NCSS | Lexile: 940

Jimi : Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of  the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe

An illustrated biography of rock musician Jimi Hendrix, focusing on his childhood, and describing how he developed his unique vison and artistic talents. | ALA, NCTE | Lexile: 900

Duke Ellington by Andrea Davis Pinkney, illustrated by Brian Pinkney

A brief recounting of the career of this jazz musician and composer who, along with his orchestra, created music that was beyond category. | ALA, NCSS, NCTE | Lexile: 800.

The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano by Elizabeth Rusch, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

Presents the life of the inventor of the piano, explaining why, how, and when he created the musical instrument. | NCTE, NSTA | Lexile: 980

When Marian Sang: The True Recital of Marian Anderson the Voice of a Century by Pam Munoz Ryan, illustrated by Brian Selznick

An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, whose life and career encouraged social change. | ALA, NCTE, NCSS | Lexile: 920

The Music in George’s Head: George Gershwin Creates Rhapsody in Blue by Suzanne Slade, illustrated by Stacy Innerst

A tribute to George Gershwin depicts a young man who hears music everywhere as he grows up and composes his masterpiece, "Rhapsody in Blue." | NCSS | Lexile: 680

Danza!: Amalia Hernandez and el Ballet Folklorico de Mexico by Duncan Tonatiuh

Celebrates the life of the dancer and founder of El Ballet Folklorico de Mexico as well as the cultural history of dance in Mexico. | Lexile: 980

Hello, I'm Johnny Cash by G. Neri

A portrait of the legendary country music star is told through lyrical free verse that conveys information about his impoverished childhood and the extraordinary talent that enabled his career and rise to success on the world stage. | ALA, NCSS | Lexile: 1020

GRADES 5-6

FICTION

Confusion is Nothing New by Paul Acampora

What's a girl to do when she finds out her late mother was the lead singer of an '80s cover band, Cyndi Lauper is Not Dead? A hilarious novel by an author who was born in Connecticut.

But, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Ten-year-old Bud, a motherless boy living in Flint, Michigan, during the Great Depression, escapes a bad foster home and sets out in search of the man he believes to be his father--the renowned bandleader, H.E. Calloway of Grand Rapids. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 950

Garvey’s Choice by Nikki Grimes

Preferring science and reading to the sports his father wants him to play, Garvey comforts himself with food and endures bullying before joining the school chorus, where he learns how to accept himself and bond with his father. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 620

Blackbird Fly by Erin Entrada Kelly

Bullied at school, eighth-grader Apple, a Filipino American who loves the music of the Beatles, decides to change her life by learning how to play the guitar. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 660

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan & Abigail Dela Cruz

A Pakistani-American Muslim girl struggles to stay true to her family's vibrant culture while simultaneously blending in at school after tragedy strikes her community. | Lexile: 800

Hiding Out at the Pancake Palace by Nan Marino

When musical prodigy, Elvis Ruby, completely freezes up on television, he is forced to hide out in the Pinelands of New Jersey and try to find his way back to the music once again with the help of a new friend. | NPR Best Books of 2013 | Lexile 580

Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka

Recently arrived in Seattle from China, musically untalented Yingtao is faced with giving a violin performance to attract new students for his father when he would rather be working on friendships and playing baseball. | Lexile: 700

Countdown by Deborah Wiles

As eleven-year-old Franny Chapman deals with drama at home and with her best friend in 1962, she tries to understand the larger problems in the world after President Kennedy announces that Russia is sending nuclear missiles to Cuba. Features historic quotations and photographs. | ALA, NCTE | Lexile: 800

Clayton Byrd Goes Underground by Rita Williams-Garcia

Feeling most alive when he's playing the blues with his grandfather, Clayton is devastated when his grandfather dies and his mother forbids him from playing music, losses that compel him to run away and join bluesmen on the road. | ALA, National Book Award Finalist | Lexile: 710

The Sweetest Sound by Sherri Winston

Shy ten-year-old Cadence grapples with an overprotective father, a mother who's skipped town to pursue stardom, and what to do when a recording of her amazing voice leaks before she's ready to share it with the world.

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach by Brenda Woods

Saint Louis Armstrong Beach is enjoying life in New Orleans, playing clarinet for the tourists in his spare time, accompanied by Shadow, a local stray dog. When Hurricane Katrina approaches, Saint faces unexpected challenges in trying to rescue Shadow. | Nutmeg 2015 | Lexile: 660

GRAPHIC NOVELS

Zebrafish by Sharon Emerson, drawn by Renée Kurilla

When their rock band becomes popular, five middle schoolers use their new fame to generate awareness (and donations) for an important cause.  | ILA |  Lexile: 470

POETRY

Sweethearts of Rhythm: the Story of the Greatest All-Girl Swing Band in the World by Marilyn Nelson

A look at a 1940's all-female jazz band, that originated from a boarding school in Mississippi and found its way to the most famous ballrooms in the country, offering solace during the hard years of the war. | NCTE | Lexile: 840

Roots and Blues: A Celebration by Arnold Adoff

Lyrical text explores how Blues have been part of everyday life throughout history, from its origins in the sounds of the earth, through slaves' voices singing of freedom, to today's greatest performers--and listeners.| NCSS

NONFICTION

Like a Bird: The Art of the American Slave Song by Cynthia Grady, illustrated by Michele Wood

Enslaved African Americans longed for freedom, and that longing took many forms including music. Drawing on biblical imagery, slave songs both expressed the sorrow of life in bondage and offered a rallying cry for the spirit. | Lexile: 1060

My Country, ‘Tis of Thee: How One Song Reveals the History of Civil Rights by Claire Rudolph Murphy

A chronicle of civil rights movements through the song's changing lyrics reveals how its words have been transformed by generations of protestors and civil rights pioneers throughout landmark historical movements. | NCSS | Lexile: 1000

Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxane Orgill, illustrated by Francis Vallejo

An uplifting collection of poems captures the world of mid-20th-century Harlem while recounting the efforts of Esquire magazine graphic designer Art Kane, who despite limited resources attempted to photograph a group of famous jazz artists in front of a brownstone. | ALA, NCTE

Prairie Dog Song: The Key to Saving North America’s Grasslands by Susan L. Roth and Cindy Trumbore

Cumulative text based on an old folksong alternating with additional scientific information explores the role of prairie dogs, a keystone species in North America's grasslands, and conservation efforts to restore the balance of plants and animals of the Janos, Mexico, prairie dog complex. | Lexile: 1020

BIOGRAPHY

I and I: Bob Marley by Tony Medina

A biography in verse about the Jamaican reggae musician Bob Marley, offering an overview of key events and themes in his life, including his biracial heritage, Rastafarian beliefs, and love of music. End notes on poems provide further biographical information.

John’s Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon by Doreen Rappaport, illustrated by Bryan Collier

Introduces the life of John Lennon who, as a member of the Beatles and as a solo artist, sought to make the world a better and more peaceful place than the one in which he was raised.

How the Beatles Changed the World by  Martin W. Sandler

Fifty years after the British invasion began, Martin Sandler explores The Beatles' long-lasting impact on the world. | Lexile: 1160

GRADES 7-8

FICTION

Guitar Notes by Mary Amato

Tripp, who plays guitar only for himself, and Lyla, a cellist whose talent has already made her famous but not happy, form an unlikely friendship when they are forced to share a practice room at their high school. | Nutmeg 2015 | Lexile: 680

For Freedom: The Story of a French Spy by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Despite the horrors of World War II, a French teenager pursues her dream of becoming an opera singer, which takes her to places where she gains information about what the Nazis are doing--information that the French Resistance needs. | ALA, ILA, Nutmeg 2007 | Lexile: 580

Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements

Seventeen-year-old Gwen, who has been living with her grandfather in Manhattan while she attends music school, joins up with another music student to solve the mystery of her grandfather's sudden disappearance.| Lexile: 770

The Musician’s Daughter by Susanne Dunlap

In eighteenth-century Vienna, Austria, Theresa seeks a way to help her family financially while investigating the murder of her father, a violinist in Haydn's orchestra at the court of Prince Esterhazy, after his body is found near a gypsy camp. | Lexile: 950

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth

Seventh-grader Lewis "Shoe" Blake from the Tuscarora Reservation has a new friend, George Haddonfield from the local Air Force base, but in 1975 upstate New York there is a lot of tension and hatred between Native Americans and Whites--and Lewis is not sure that he can rely on friendship. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 870

Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John

Eighteen-year-old Piper becomes the manager for her classmates' popular rock band, called Dumb, giving her the chance to prove her capabilities to her parents and others, if only she can get the band members to get along. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 890

Mindblind by Jennifer Roy

Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark, who has Asperger's Syndrome, tries to prove that he is a genius by writing songs for his rock band so that he can become a member of the prestigious Aldus Institute, the premier organization for the profoundly gifted. | Nutmeg 2014 | Lexile: 580

Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan

Lost in the Black Forest, Otto meets three mysterious sisters and finds himself entwined in a prophecy, a promise, and a harmonica--and decades later three children, Friedrich in Germany, Mike in Pennsylvania, and Ivy in California find themselves caught up in the same thread of destiny in the darkest days of the twentieth century, struggling to keep their families intact, and tied together by the music of the same harmonica. | ALA, ILA, NCTE | Lexile: 680

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Nearly a year after a failed suicide attempt, sixteen-year-old Elise discovers that she has the passion, and the talent, to be a disc jockey. | ALA, Nutmeg 2016 | Lexile: 720

Drums, Girls & Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

When his younger brother is diagnosed with leukemia, thirteen-year-old Steven tries to deal with his complicated emotions, his school life, and his desire to support his family. | ALA, Nutmeg 2010 | Lexile: 940

After Tupac & D Foster by Jacqueline Woodson

In the New York City borough of Queens in 1996, three girls bond over their shared love of Tupac Shakur's music, as together they try to make sense of the unpredictable world in which they live. | ALA | Lexile: 750

When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright

Adopted by white parents and sent to an exclusive Connecticut girls' school where she is the only black student, Lahni Schuler feels like an outcast, until she attends a local church where she hears gospel music for the first time. | Lexile: 730

Playing for the Commandant by Suzy Zall

A young Jewish pianist at Auschwitz, desperate to save her family, is chosen to play at the camp commandant's house. How could she know she would fall in love with the wrong boy? | NCSS | Lexile: 700

GRAPHIC NOVEL

Rickety Stitch and the Gelatinous Goo #1: The Road to Epoli by Ben Costa (2017)

A walking, talking, singing skeleton minstrel who has mysteriously retained his soul within the confines of the dungeon where he has been imprisoned departs with his sidekick, a gelatinous monster, to investigate clues about his identity in snippets of a song he hears in his dreams. | Lexile: 360

NONFICTION

The Mysteries of Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin & Lydia Nibley (2009)

Introduces the life of the Austrian composer, along with the story of a lock of his hair cut by a barber after his death, which was kept by various owners and the analysis of which revealed the high level of lead present in the composer's body. | NSTA |  Lexile: 1400

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound by Andrea Davis Pinkney

A narrative history of the Motown music label covering the historical context, personalities, and ongoing legacy of the "sound of young America. | ALA | Lexile: 1030

Raggin’ Jazzin’ Rockin’: A History of American Musical Instrument Makers by Susan VanHecke

Presents a history of the invention of musical instruments, including the inventors who created Zildjian cymbals, the Steinway piano, the Martin guitar, the Hammond organ, and the Moog synthesizer. | ALA | Lexile: 1090

Legends, Icons & Rebels: Music That Changed the world by Robbie Robertson, Jim Guerinot, Sebastian Robertson & Jared Levine

A tribute to more than two dozen legendary music artists who significantly influenced the landscape of music for generations to come, from Ray Charles and Bob Dylan to Chuck Berry and Johnny Cash.  | ILA

BIOGRAPHY

The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights by Russell Freedman

An account of the life of a talented and determined artist who left her mark on musical and social history is drawn from Anderson's own writings and other contemporary accounts. | ALA, NCSS | Lexile: 1180

Jazz A-B-Z: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits by Wynton Marsalis, illustrated by Paul Rogers

Profiles twenty-six of the jazz greats of all time, from Count Basie to Louis Armstrong, through a review of their work, their life stories, and their greatest hits by one of today's top jazz performers. | ILA

Music Was It: Young Leonard Bernstein by Susan Goldman Rubin (2011)

Biography of composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein. | ALA | Lexile: 970

Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete Seeger by Anita Silvey

Discusses the life and career of the folk singer, tracing his career and influence as a singer and surveying his political development.. | Lexile: 1050

GRADES 9-12

FICTION

Solo by Kwame Alexander

Seventeen-year-old Blade endeavors to resolve painful issues from his past to navigate the challenges of his former rockstar father's addictions, scathing tabloid rumors, and a protected secret that threatens his own identity. | ALA | Lexile: 640

A Song for Ella Grey by David Almond

A modern adaptation of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth lyrically depicts the experiences of Claire, who struggles as a bystander when her best friend, Ella, becomes involved with a charismatic young man at the beach. | ALA | Lexile: 540

Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

While trying to score a date with her cute co-worker at the Scooper Dooper, sixteen-year-old Audrey gains unwanted fame and celebrity status when her ex-boyfriend, a rock musician, records a breakup song about her that soars to the top of the Billboard charts. | ALA | 760

Naked ‘76 by Kevin Brooks

In the summer of 1976, when punk rock is taking over England, Lili finds herself playing bass for a wild new band called Naked, and struggling to sort out complicated relationships with self-destructive band mates. | Lexile: 960

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn

High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart. | ALA | Lexile: 940

Beautiful Music for Ugly Children by Kristin Cronn-Mills

Gabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl's body. With his new public access radio show gaining in popularity, Gabe struggles with romance, friendships, and parents--all while trying to come out as transgendered. An audition for a station in Minneapolis looks like his ticket to a better life in the big city. But his entire future is threatened when several violent guys find out Gabe, the popular DJ, is also Elizabeth from school. | ALA | Lexile: 600

All Our Pretty Songs by Sarah McCarry

In the Pacific Northwest, the bond between two best friends is challenged when a mysterious and gifted musician comes between them and awakens an ancient evil.  | ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound | Lexile: 820

The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

In the months after her sister dies, seventeen-year-old Lennie falls into a love triangle and discovers the strength to follow her dream of becoming a musician. | Lexile: 860

Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers

Ali Collins was a child piano prodigy until a brain tumor caused her to lose her hearing, and now, after meeting Jace, the lead singer of Tone Deaf, her musical and romantic possiblities increase.| ALA | Lexile: 800

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Set over the course of one school year in 1986, this is the story of two star-crossed misfits--smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. | ALA, ILA | Lexile: 580

The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos

Written as a college admission essay, eighteen-year-old Harry Jones recounts a childhood defined by the hideous scars he hid behind, and how forming a band brought self-confidence, friendship, and his first kiss. | ALA | Lexile: 910

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr

Sixteen-year-old San Franciscan Lucy Beck-Moreau once had a promising future as a concert pianist. Her chance at a career has passed, and she decides to help her ten-year-old piano prodigy brother, Gus, map out his own future, even as she explores why she enjoyed piano in the first place.  | ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound | Lexile: 610

POETRY

The Rose That Grew From Concrete by Tupac Shakur

A collection of verse by the late hip-hop star Tupac Shakur includes more than one hundred poems confronting such wide-ranging topics as poverty, motherhood, Van Gogh, and Mandela. | ALA

NONFICTION

Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad by M. T. Anderson

An account of the Siege of Leningrad reveals the role played by Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his Leningrad Symphony in rallying and commenorating their fellow citizens. |  ALA, NCSS | Lexile: 990

Sensing the Rhythm: Finding My Voice in a World Without Sound by Mandy Harvey

The musician recounts her life and career, including how she lost her hearing at age eighteen, suffered from depression, and found her way back to music.

Ready for a Brand New Beat: How "Dancing in the Street" Became the Anthem for a Changing America by Mark Kurlansky

Traces the meteoric popularity of the iconic song by Marvin Gaye, Mickey Stevenson, and Ivy Jo Hunter against a backdrop of the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, exploring how the song's multiple meanings rendered it an activist anthem. | ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound

This is Your Brain on Music: the Science of a Human Obsession by Daniel J. Levitin

Explores the relationship between the mind and music by drawing on recent findings in the fields of neuroscience and evolutionary psychology to discuss topics such as the sources of musical tastes and the brain's responses to music.

Children of the Stone: The Power of Music in a Hard Land by Sandy Tolan

Chronicles the life story of Ramzi Aburedwan, a Palestinian refugee who got an education, mastered the viola, and founded a music school in the West Bank, showing how his love of music helped to inspire children in a violent land.

BIOGRAPHY

Janis Joplin by Ann Angel

A biography of rock musician Janis Joplin, with photographs and anecdotes from those who knew her, covering her work to improve as a singer, struggle atainst authority aned love for her mother. | ALA | Lexile: 1170

Yoko Ono: Collector of Skies by Neil Beram

A lyrical introduction to the life and art of Yoko Ono covers her avant-garde visual art and her experimental music, exploring how she endured as the misunderstood wife of John Lennon and sought unique creative expressions. | ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound

This Land Was Made for You and Me by Elizabeth Partridge

A biography of Woody Guthrie, a singer who wrote over 3,000 folk songs and ballads as he traveled around the United States, including This Land is Your Land and So Long It’s Been Good to Know Yuh. | ALA Outstanding Books for the College Bound, NCSS | Lexile: 1020

Die Young With Me: A Memoir by Rob Rufus

The author describes growing up in rural West Virginia and starting a punk band with his twin brother, only to be diagnosed with stage four cancer, which forced him to discover his inner strength. | ALA ALEX Award

Linda Williams | Youth Services Consultant, Division of Library Development | Linda.Williams@ct.gov | Office: (860) 704-2207

libguides.ctstatelibrary.org/dld/children | 786 S. Main St., Middletown, CT 06457 | Phone: (860) 704-2200 | Fax : (860) 704-2228