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PreS-Gr 5 Paw forward, the cat featured in Raschka's Simple Gifts (Holt, 1998) graces the clear cellophane jacket of this book. Her thick, black, inked contours overlay the watercolor, biomorphic forms on the book's front cover-a box, snowflake, and raindrop-the performers of Coltrane's jazz classic "Giant Steps." An offstage narrator/conductor prepares listeners for "swirling, leaping, tumbling sheets of sound.'" In the ensuing double...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

"Good evening. And thank you for coming to our book. We have something very special for you tonight. It's John Coltrane's marvelous and tricky composition, 'Giant Steps,' performed for you by a box, a snowflake, some raindrops, and a kitten. Why not stay and see it?" As with Raschka's other jazz books, we are thrown right into a world in which paint, composition, and color don't just depict music, they become the musical experience. Large, square pages show simple translucent watercolor shapes that change color throughout. First, blue and white raindrops (the drum set) march across a spread setting a simple rhythm. Next, the box's red and yellow shapes indicate the acoustic bass, overlapping with the raindrops' colors to form purple and green. Turn the ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More