Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band

Expose children to a new musical genre with the help of Kwame Alexander's Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band.

Alexander, Kwame.
Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band.
August 2011.
Sleeping Bear Press.
Review copy provided courtesy of publisher.

Wishing to enter and hopefully to win the Barnyard Talent Show, Acoustic Rooster has been practicing strumming his bass guitar all summer long. Unable to join one of the other teams, Acoustic Rooster opts to start his own jazz band and calls upon Duck Ellington (pianist), Bee Holiday (singer), Poncho Ernesto Cruz aka Pork Chop (percussion) to help him claim a title at the talent show. While Acoustic Rooster's band doesn't win first place, compliments from one of their competitors leaves Acoustic Rooster feeling proud that he's got the world's best band!

With "rollicking, rhyming and rhythmic" text, this story is sure to appeal to children and capture their interest! Parents will take delight in the humor and takes on names that make the story fun for children, yet allow them to relate to the musicians just a bit more personally. The additional information provided at the back of the book (jazz glossary, musical vocabulary, and information about the musicians, characters and music, and jazz timeline) will help children to better understand the genre and how it came to be.

Reading/Learning Activity:

• Use this book as a springboard to introduce children to jazz music.
  
• CDs/Music for Children: Jazz for Kids: Sing, Clap, Wiggle and Shake or Jazz Chants for Children: Teacher's Edition.
• Other Jazz-themed books for children ages 3-5: The Jazz Fly by Matthew Golub or Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler
• For children ages 6-8: Jazz by Walter Dean Myers or The Sound that Jazz Makes by Carole Boston Weatherford
• And for older children (9-12): Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women of Jazz by Leslie Gourse or Jazz ABZ: An A to Z Collection of Jazz Portraits with Art Print by Wynton Marsalis
  

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