Daddy Played the Blues

Packing themselves into an old jalopy--with Daddy, Uncle Vern, and Mama in the front seat and Cassie and her two brothers in the back--they joined the Great Migration from the impoverished Deep South to Chicago, where there was work to be had in the stockyards. Across the kids' laps lay Daddy's prized possession, a six-string guitar. Daddy worked hard to put food on the table, but what he really loved was playing the blues. This evocative tale of the African-American odyssey in search of a better life is also a homage to the uniquely American music that developed from African music and American spirituals, work songs, and folk ballads.

In the book's backmatter, Garland relates how he first heard and fell in love with blues music, beginning a lifelong fandom. Portraits and thumbnail biographies of great blues musicians and landmark songs complete this tribute to the great American music and the yearnings that produced it.

Fountas & Pinnell Level S

ISBN-13: 9780884485889

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers

Publication Date: 09-12-2017

Pages: 48

Product Dimensions: 9.20h x 10.00w x 0.50d

Age Range: 7 - 10 Years

Garland, Michael: - Michael Garland (Patterson, NY) is the illustrator of 75 children's picture books, half of which he also wrote. Miss Smith and the Haunted Library is a New York Times bestseller. Other recent books include Tilbury's A Season of Flowers , and Daddy Played the Blues , Lost Dog, Tugboat, Car Goes Far, Fish Had a Wish (starred review from Publisher's Weekly), Where's My Homework?, and Grandpa's Tractor (selected for the Original Art of Children's Book Show by the Society of Illustrators in New York). He has illustrated bestselling picture books for James Patterson, Gloria Estefan, and other celebrity authors, and his illustrations for Patterson's Santa Kid were the inspiration for Saks Fifth Avenue's Christmas holiday window display in New York City. Garland's Christmas Magic has become a seasonal classic and is currently in development as an animated Christmas special. Michael makes school visits across the country.