Friday, February 9, 2007

What Kindergarten's Reading This Week




Lookin' For Bird In The Big City
by Robert Burleigh illustrated by Marek Los

In honor of Black History month I like to read some different stories to my younger students. I discovered this book my first year as a media specialist (4 years ago) and have been reading it ever since. It is a fictional story of a young Miles Davis, traveling the streets of New York City searching for his idol Charlie "Bird" Parker. The watercolor artwork by Marek Los seems to be almost smoky and vibrant at the same time and it really reflects the tone of the story. While reading this story, I put on a Miles Davis CD and turn up the music at key points in the story. The students really enjoy not only the story, but the mix of listening to music with a story. The afterward in the book provides some information on Miles Davis' life and on the back cover is a photograph of Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

After I read the story, I keep the music on while the students check out books. For many of my students, it is the first time they have ever listened to Jazz music and certainly the first time they have ever heard of Miles Davis or Charlie Parker.

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