Parents' Guide to

Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

By Regan McMahon, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 6+

Engaging, inspiring bio of jazz great has superb art.

Book Katheryn Russell-Brown Picture Book 2014
Little Melba and Her Big Trombone Poster Image

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What's the Story?

LITTLE MELBA AND HER BIG TROMBONE is a picture-book biography of jazz great Melba Doretta Liston, who was born in 1926 and died in 1999. It shows her passion for music and the trombone from age 7 -- she played on the radio when she was only 8 -- and how she toured the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. She encountered racism while touring the South with Billie Holiday (one full-page illustration shows Melba on the tour bus passing a hotel sign that reads "The Best Service for WHITES ONLY") but continued to perform as an in-demand instrumentalist, as well as compose and arrange music. An afterword gives more detailed biographical information about her life and career, in which she played with Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, and Quincy Jones, among others. She composed and arranged for Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Tony Bennett, Ray Charles, and Bob Marley, to name a few, and continued composing and arranging though the 1990s, even after a stroke in 1985 left her partially paralyzed.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
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It's easy to see why Little Melba and Her Big Trombone won a 2015 Coretta Scott King Book Illustrator Award. Frank Morrison's vivid, evocative paintings use a brown and burnt-orange palette. Closeups and long shots capture Melba's emotions as well as her physical style of playing by throwing her whole body into the notes. They also provide a colorful backdrop for each era, from her aunties dancing in the '20s to the Depression-plagued '30s to the Big Band '40s and cool jazz '50s.

Katheryn Russell-Brown's storytelling is crisp and engaging as it mixes relatable moments and emotions with biographical information that should inspire but not overwhelm young readers.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about music and how musicians have a passion for their instrument. Do you play an instrument? Would you like to learn how to play one?

  • What other artists or musicians have you read about or seen in movie biographies?

  • Do you think Melba Doretta Liston is a hero in African-American history?

Book Details

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