The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Editorial Reviews. Review. "Acknowledging Mary's long, worldwide career as an elegant, Look inside this book. The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by [.
Table of contents

This is a lovely picture book biography about the jazz musician Mary Lou Williams. The story itself is told in a way that it could be either true or fictional. The afterword makes clear how much she contributed to the field of music. This account is adept at showing the transformative power of music, This is a lovely picture book biography about the jazz musician Mary Lou Williams. This account is adept at showing the transformative power of music, at least for the musically gifted.

Mary had a rough childhood.

Customer reviews

Her musical genius was a true gift, for her and for others too, those who heard her music. I liked that the language used to tell the story will appeal to kids; there are phrases kids will intimately know first hand. The illustrations are marvelous. It took me a bit of time to get used to the way the people were painted, but from the beginning I loved the colors, various settings and objects, etc.

This biography historical fiction account? This book would be ideal for reading aloud one to one or for groups and also for independent readers. View all 6 comments. Jan 18, Crystal Marcos rated it really liked it. I knew nothing about Mary Lou Williams before reading this book. The "Afterward" was a great addition providing more information on Mary Lou's contribution to the world of music. I liked the illustrations and the colors used. Lots of blues and greens.

Her story was a interesting to read and I enjoyed the flow of the story.

mary lou williams from KC jazzblues piano

I enjoy all types of music. Hearing of how Mary Lou Williams played and knowing now how gifted she was makes me want to seek out her music. She was such an inspiration to jazz and I am sure would be an inspiration to any child who has a dream of music. It would be amazing to witness a three year old playing a song on the piano by just hearing it. I found out about this great book from the children's Picture Book Club found here this month's reads: Jan 28, Krista the Krazy Kataloguer rated it really liked it Shelves: What a musical genius!

This girl could play the piano--without having had lessons! She could play any tune she heard without sheet music. Ingalls here recounts the story of Mary Lou Williams' life, as she grew up in Atlanta, encountered prejudice in Pittsburgh, and transformed all her experiences into music. Ingalls' lively descriptions of Mary Lou's music made me wish that a CD had been included with the book.

In an afterword note, I was surprised to learn that, in the ear What a musical genius! In an afterword note, I was surprised to learn that, in the early days of jazz, "women sang or danced but rarely played any instrument. How nice that someone has written her story so that young girls today can be inspired by Mary Lou's determination to do what she loved and what came natural to her.

Jun 13, Dolly rated it really liked it Recommends it for: This is a fascinating story about a female Jazz legend, Mary Lou Williams. I had never heard of her before, so I'm really glad we found this book. It showed the hardships and poverty she lived with and how she rose above it all to pursue her dreams and her passion. We really liked this story. Mar 28, Jenny rated it really liked it Shelves: Mary Lou Williams became a jazz legend duirng a time when few women were successful at Jazz.

See a Problem?

She could hear a song and almost immediately reproduce it on her piano. As I honestly don't know much about Jazz, I had never heard of her before reading this book, but I am amazed by her talent starting at such a young age. I'd love to learn more about her and will definitely be looking for some music by her to listen to. Sep 23, Marissa Steeves rated it it was amazing Shelves: I loved this book's beautiful story and inspiring message. Mary Lou Williams had a lifelong love for piano jazz music that could ignite an inner musician within anyone.

I felt a great deal of understanding and empathy for Mary's struggles growing up. It must have been extremely difficult to leave her home and piano in Atlanta, Georgia to move to an unwelcoming community in Pittsburgh. She may not have had much growing up, but her talent and dedication is what made her success so compelling. This I loved this book's beautiful story and inspiring message. This book is a non-fiction biographical story that is developmentally appropriate and interesting to children.

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend by Ann Ingalls

It has an intriguing plot and clear dialogue, as well as realistic perspective seen through illustrations. Some children may be able to relate to Mary moving to a different city or being teased for not looking like other children. The cultural perspectives of this story create somewhat of a barrier between African American and White families.

This problem has an end solution seen through Mary's good persona and musical qualities. Feb 11, Christine Turner rated it really liked it Shelves: Summary What if you loved music more than anything? People don't like you in the new city because of what you look like. Mary Lou Williams, like Mozart, began playing the piano when she was four; at eight she became a professional musician.

She wrote and arranged music for Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, and was one of the most powerful women in jazz. Notes Ann Ingalls and Maryann Macdonald are sisters and lifelong music lovers. This is Ann's first book, and Maryann's twenty-second. Write a product review.

Most helpful customer reviews on Amazon. Filled with colorful illustrations, the story is lively and fast-paced and sure to capture the interest and imagination of children. It's wonderful that books for all ages are finally being written about this great jazz legend, whose contribution to jazz has not been fully recognized.


  • KIRKUS REVIEW.
  • Adsorbents: Fundamentals and Applications.
  • The Little Piano Girl.

I am an elementary school music teacher as well as a writer, and my young students thoroughly enjoyed the story of young Mary's amazing early life. Arrived as scheduled and was as described. Will be using this in my classroom during black history month. I've downloaded some of her selections and plan to play them while I read the story, then we'll open up my piano and check out how it works, great experience for 1st graders! All people of color should have their children read about Mary Lou Williams.

Questions?

Feedback If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us. Would you like to report poor quality or formatting in this book? Click here Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study.

The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. The E-mail Address es field is required. Please enter recipient e-mail address es. The E-mail Address es you entered is are not in a valid format. Please re-enter recipient e-mail address es. You may send this item to up to five recipients. The name field is required.

Please enter your name. The E-mail message field is required. Please enter the message.

The Little Piano Girl: The Story of Mary Lou Williams, Jazz Legend

Please verify that you are not a robot. Would you also like to submit a review for this item? You already recently rated this item. Your rating has been recorded. Write a review Rate this item: Preview this item Preview this item. The little piano girl Author: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children, English View all editions and formats Summary: A child prodigy at the piano sprinkles her music with a little jazz.