Mysterious Thelonious

Rating:
Summary: One of the most amazing books I've ever read
Review: As summarized above, this is one of the most amazing books I've ever read. By no means is it "just for kids"--this book is revolutionary, in the same way and to the same degree that "Ulysses" was. Highest praise possible.

Rating:
Summary: Mysterious Thelonius
Review: I was skeptical about this when I picked it up from the library. My 6 and 3 year olds absolutely loved it. The way the words were scattered over the page made it impossible not to read it rhythmically! We read it months ago, and still, every time someone says the word "mysterious," they start chanting the words of the book. Raschka has done it again!

Rating:
Summary: A small miracle
Review: One wouldn't think it possible, but Raschka has recreated Monk's "Misterioso" into a beautiful synthesis of color and word by matching the 12 musical notes of the chromatic scale to the 12 values of the color wheel, and repeating word phrases with slight variations, as with Monk's playing.

Rating:
Summary: An abstract book about the life of Thelonious Monk.
Review: The author/illustrator has found a clever way to combine the illustration and text, as if to portray the sound of Thelonious Monk's music. I read this to a third grade music class. The students commented that the words were placed on the page like notes on a music staff. They also noticed that the size of the words changed throughout the book, perhaps suggesting the dynamics in his music. Although the book doesn't share specific factual information about Thelonious Monk, it is fun to read. I would recommend it for all students and music lovers alike. As a music teacher, I really enjoyed this book!

Rating:
Summary: Language, art, music,and color create a new mening of jazz.
Review: There is nothing Misterioso about Chris Raschka's story about Thelonious Monk, Mysterious Thelonious. Just as there were "no wrong notes on Monk's piano, there are no wrong words in this marvelously creative book by Chris Raschka. Inspiried by the first jazzman to cultivate a goatee and by Monk's composition, 'Misterioso', Raschka has approached this picture-book from a right angle, similar to how Monk titled his head as he 'crushed' out his muisc on the piano. Words, music, and color run up-and-down the pages like Monk's enormous hands, hitting al 12 keys at once. Young readers will enjoy the challenge of trying to decode the phonetic-like presentation of words that reverberate page-by-page across colorful grids reminiscent of a Paul Klee drawing. Seasoned jazz lovers (like me) will marvel at how Raschka has caught the musical magic of Thelonious Sphere Monk as he might have 'sounded with words and a brush' jamming with Charlie (Yardbird) Parker at Minton's Playhouse (New York) in 1937. I have used this book many times to show teachers the power of interactive read-alouds to create higher levels of understanding. With black shades on and Monk's music playing in the background, children delight in a unique demonstration of how language, art, color, and hyphenated text work together to tell a wonderful story about the music of freedom....Jazz. Tr- ue to h- is rep- u- tation, Ra- sch- ka u- ses o- nly a fe- w w- ords, b- ut s- ays a lo- t!

Rating:
Summary: Not for kids
Review: This totally bombed with my kids. I found it highly entertaining though. I do love jazz. But my kids (4 and 6) could not enjoy it. I wish that reviewers would check out what children think, instead of factoring in their own adult bias. There is nothing interesting in this book for a kid. No plot, no discernable subject...just cadence and rhythm. That is not enough to make a book fly for a kid (or at least mine).