Odetta: The Queen of Folk

by Alcorn, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780439928182
• ISBN10: 0439928184
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-12-01
• Publisher: Scholastic Press

Summary

She was a beautiful girl who plunged headfirst into the world with a song to sing. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, this child soon learned to make a whole heap of noise on her auntieÂ’s piano. Then she discovered her own instrument--a voice full of brass and thunder! And, oh, did she have a song to sing--spirituals, gospels, and work songs.She sang joy. She sang sorrow and struggle. She sang triumph. Her songs told stories of AmericaÂ’s history. And with the help of Baby,her guitar, Odetta blazed a musical trail that served as the road map for many folksingers who followed in her footsteps. Presentedwith luminous paintings and a poetic narrative, the life and times of folk musicÂ’s queen will leave readers strumming.

Author Biography

Stephen Alcorn

Stephen Alcorn is the illustrator of many award-winning books for young people, including the Coretta Scott King Honor book LET IT SHINE: STORIES OF BLACK FREEDOM FIGHTERS by Andrea D. Pinkney; THE YEAR OF THE PAPER MENORAHS by Doreen Rappaport; FREDERICK DOUGLASS, IN HIS OWN WORDS and LINCOLN, IN HIS OWN WORDS, both edited by Milton Meltzer. In addition, Mr. Alcorn is an acclaimed painter and printmaker whose works hang in private and museum collections throughout the world. He lives in Cambridge, New York.

Excerpts

From Odetta

Now, we may not all
sing the same, but we
can all sing along.
Let's sing with the Queen
of Folk, this wildly
famous song:

This little light of mine.
I'm gonna let it shine.

Black keys
and white keys
singing TOGETHER
to create HARMONIOUS sound!