Jazz Day: The Making of a Famous Photograph by Roxanne Orgill. Illustrated by Francis Vallejo. Candlewick Press, 2016

Age 10 and older

When Art Kane put out a call in 1958 for jazz musicians to gather in Harlem for a photograph, he had no idea what the response would be. Would anyone show up on the appointed day? One by one they did: singers and saxophone players, pianists and drummers, trumpet players and bassists. Dizzy and Duke, the Count and the Lion, Thelonious and Maxine and Mary Lou. Fifty-seven jazz musicians in all, from the well-known to newcomers to those known only on the local music scene. They came not to perform, but to laugh and talk and get in “Some Kind of Formation, Please!” Neighborhood children were there, too, sitting on the curb in front when Kane’s camera went “Click!” The famous black-and-white photograph he took is a magnificent fold-out feature of this work, which tells the story of that historic event through poems and paintings focusing on individuals, encounters, and the effervescent energy of it all. An introduction provides readers with a grounding, while an author’s note includes a numbered outline of the photo identifying the musicians. Brief biographies of each person, and ample resource material, round out this distinctive volume.   © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

The Lucy Variations by Sara Zarr. Little, Brown, 2013

Age 13 and older

Eight months ago, Lucy, a classically trained pianist wunderkind, walked off stage at a major competition in Prague, furious that her grandfather had withheld news of her grandmother’s death back home in San Francisco. Her grandfather, a rigid force in their family, announces she has made her choice: She’s done with piano (meaning he’s done supporting her career). Lucy thinks she’s happy about it until she meets her ten-year-old brother Gus’s new piano teacher. Gus, also a major talent, is being taught by Will Deva, a former prodigy whose approach is much more relaxed than anything Lucy or Gus is familiar with. Will asks Lucy if she wants to play again and Lucy finally admits the answer is yes. But can she really return to music on her own terms? Then Lucy’s wonderful relationship with Gus—they can understand each other like no one else—frays when she begins to develop a crush on Will, who doesn’t necessarily discourage her attraction despite being married. What Lucy can’t see is that Will is hoping her return will boost his own career. Sara Zarr’s novel about an extraordinarily talented young woman offers insight into the life of a child prodigy. In Lucy’s case, she is a mix of maturity beyond her years and self-centered teen, and caught between the desire to define herself, meet other’s expectations, and wanting to just be a typical teen—a dimension of life explored through her relationship with friends Reyna and Carson.  © Cooperative Children’s Book Center

If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth.  Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic, 2013

Age 11 and older

Lewis Blake is the only Tuscarora reservation kid tracked with the “braniacs” in junior high. Sixth grade was a social disaster—it turns out white kids don’t get Indian humor–so he starts seventh grade in 1975 determined to have a better year. He’s even cut off his braid in hopes of fitting in. George, a recent arrival to the nearby air force base in upstate New York where they live, becomes his first, and only, white friend. The two initially bond over a mutual love of music, especially the Beatles and Paul McCartney and Wings. Surprised that George’s military father and German mother genuinely welcome him into their home, Lewis knows he’ll never be able to reciprocate the invitation. Money has been tighter than ever since his grandfather died, and the house where he lives with his mother and Uncle Albert is literally falling down. So he lies about why George can’t come over, although in many ways Lewis has much more in common with George than with Carson, his closest friend on the reservation. In a narrative full of humor and rife with tender, honest, and unsettling truths, author Eric Gansworth explores identity, and what it means to find and be a friend. Gansworth’s first foray into young adult literature lovingly captures both time and place, and reveals characters whose complexities bring sadness, joy, and survival into full relief. In a novel that exposes racism both subtle and overt (seen most vividly in the subplot involving the school’s unwillingness to punish the son of a school donor who is bullying Lewis), Gansworth also portrays two very different but equally loving families.  ©2013 Cooperative Children’s Book Center