DOUBLE BASS BLUES by Andrea J. Loney and WHEN WINTER ROBESON CAME by Brenda Woods

We began our April discussion with our picture book, Double Bass Blues, by Andrea J. Loney; illustrated by Rudy Gutierrez. We unanimously loved the vibrantly colored, action-packed, and symbolic illustrations -- including the front and back endpapers -- in this book, which were mostly the vehicle for telling the story. Double-bass player Little Nic -- after being hailed as a star in his school orchestra -- has to lug his clumsy, heavy bass on a bus from school to his granddaddy's house. The many details in the illustrations tell the story and also cause readers to be very observant. On the way, Nic's many experiences are shown by various painted sound words, some of which are made by his clunky bass, some by nature, and some by taunts from others he encounters. A couple of readers felt that these words got in the way; others liked them. We wondered how much communication (if any) there had been between the author and the illustrator. We felt it was a unique book for young readers and liked the way that it represented jazz, especially at the end where Little Nic arrives at his granddaddy's place and is warmly greeted by 'real' jazz musicians who loudly applaud his playing. We liked the way the book dealt with his relationship with his grandpa, with showing his own talent, and with how he handled the bullying from some people he encountered on his journey. We felt that kids who are 'into' music would love this book, and we felt it could be used as a read-aloud in many K-12 school situations -- especially where music and art are emphasized.

We had various reactions to our novel, When Winter Robeson Came by Brenda Woods. A couple of readers were not big fans of novels in verse; they felt it was distracting by creating unnecessary (poetic?) pauses in their reading. Others were not bothered by that and said they had just read it like any other story. We all liked the historical perspective of the story told in the voice of 12-year-old Eden -- a budding musician/composer -- which was set in Los Angeles in 1965, "not too far from Watts". Some were a bit put off by some of the musical terms Eden added throughout her narrative, and said it felt like those words were just 'tacked on'. Eden welcomes her 14-year-old cousin Winter who has come from Mississippi to visit for two weeks. We liked the comparisons the two made between life in each place at that time. We also liked the way they navigated the city, using a telephone book (!) and maps and traveling by bus on various sightseeing trips, including to Watts Towers and the beach. A mystery element was introduced when Winter expressed that he was actually looking for his dad, who had come to LA ten years earlier and had seemingly disappeared. We liked the way that these two brave young folks became detectives, questioning significant people and following clues to find the dad (no spoilers here). We liked the relationship between Eden and her family and friends, and felt that all of the kids' voices and personality quirks were very real, and we also appreciated the vivid descriptions of the clothes, music, cars, buildings, and events of that time and place, including everyone's reactions to the 1965 rebellion in Watts that erupted in the middle of Winter's visit -- but played a relatively small part in the overall story. We also liked the compassion that was shown between various characters in times of stress or anxiety...and commented about how, sadly, these days it seems that a lot of that has been lost. We felt the book was quite accessible for young readers, and that they would enjoy a smooth read and learn something about how things were way before their time. We agreed this book could be a jumping-off point for further research.