Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker
4/5
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About this ebook
Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award, Honor
Boston Globe–Horn Book Award, Nonfiction Honor
In exuberant verse and stirring pictures, Patricia Hruby Powell and Christian Robinson create an extraordinary portrait for young people of the passionate performer and civil rights advocate Josephine Baker, the woman who worked her way from the slums of St. Louis to the grandest stages in the world. Meticulously researched by both author and artist, Josephine's powerful story of struggle and triumph is an inspiration and a spectacle, just like the legend herself.
Patricia Hruby Powell
Patricia Hruby Powell's previous book, Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, won a Sibert Honor for Nonfiction, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and five starred reviews. She lives in Illinois.
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Reviews for Josephine
100 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Josephine's life is presented for children in stage acts and in a lively prose. She was definitely a strong-willed person who didn't let naysayers get her down. I was unaware of her "rainbow tribe" of children...very interesting. Children will need some background on civil rights and racial attitudes of the past to fully appreciate Josephine's determination to keep her eye on the prize.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wonderfully told, vibrantly illustrated story of Baker's life.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Loved it! I'd never heard of Josephine Baker before and I missed out! This book made me want to go learn more about her incredible life. Fantastic illustrations and the text evoked a feeling of restlessness and dancing that matched Josephine's life perfectly. An easy, entertaining read. Recommended for all ages!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Does it fit in 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge Prompt #34: A book about a social justice issue ?
I put it in "set in multiple countries" prompt.
For a children's book, this captivated my heart. With few words, it sure hit me right in the heart. Had I read this in my childhood, I may forget its impact in my perspective about talent and race.
Beautifully written. Very inspiring. Charismatic main character with a fierce fighting spirit.
Will definitely recommend to (my future) kids.
Book preview
Josephine - Patricia Hruby Powell
WAS.
THE BEGINNING
1906–1917
Josephine—
born poor,
out of wedlock
in honky-tonk town—
rambunctious
SAINT LOUIS, Missouri—
home of barrelhouses,
nickel shots of whisky,
and gambling halls—
home of
RAGTIME MUSIC—
raggedy black music—
gotta-make-the-rent music—
lift-my-soul music—
GOLDEN-AGE music.
Josephine’s mama scrubbed floors,
but would’ve rather been
DANCING—
where you were free of
how-to-pay-the-rent,
where you could be right there
in your body
nowhere else, where you could
let your body LAUGH.
Or CRY.
She dreamt of dancing
alongside acrobats, magicians, animals,
honky-tonk bands, you name it.
Called it VAUDEVILLE,
the most popular entertainment of the day.
Josephine sat on Mama’s knee and sponged up that funky