Charlie Parker Played Be Bop

Chris Raschka refuses to be neatly cataloged, noted, and tucked away in a file somewhere. When this man writes a picture book you really get the feeling that he's put his spine and soul into it. I've had the mixed pleasure of reading a wide variety of Raschka titles in my day. There was the original if somewhat misguided "John Coltrane's Giant Steps", the ridiculously simple but fun "Yo! Yes?", and that remarkable and odd, "The Genie In the Jar". If there's one connecting thread between his various works, it's probably rooted in Raschka's deep and abiding love of music. He's the only picture book artist I can think of that's introduced kids to everyone from Thelonious Monk to (amazing but true) Nina Simone. For the first time, however, I've found a Raschka book that I could fall head over heels in love with. Usually I respect the man's work without ever really enjoying his books, if that makes any sense. With "Charlie Parker Played Be Bop", however, I think Raschka's really tapped into something amazing. The book's like a single, long poem. The reoccurring phrase is, "Charlie Parker played be bop" with the final line always, "Never leave your cat alone". That means that a stanza sounds something like, "Charlie Parker played be bop / Charlie Parker played saxaphone / The music sounded like be bop / Never leave your cat alone". You get the picture. Occasionally, however, this book goes all-out silly on you, but with a rhythm that's hard to ignore. "Be bop. Fisk, fisk. Lollipop. Boomba, boomba". And suddenly there are lollipops and odd blue nosed animals tramping across the page in a line, obviously in touch with the beat of the song. Things get wilder and wilder as the song continues and sometimes you see long lines of overshoes (walking on cute little blue feet of their own), letters in the alphabet, and chickadees be bopping their way down the line. Finally, we hit the last, "Never leave your cat alone", and a miserable if resigned pussy stares wearily into the distance. There's an insanity to this book that's difficult to find in other picture books today. Somehow Raschka has managed to tap into just the right crazy childlike vein. Kids may not understand what's going on in these pages (and who would?) but they'll enjoy it just the same. Raschka's toned down his illustrations in a way as well. Things are kooky here, but they make sense. This is a kind of jazz put to paper, so there's an order and form to the (at first glance) weirdness. The pictures all make sense, even if they place bright blue feet on animals or objects that don't usually sport them. If you'd like to expand your child's mind but you just can't figure out how to do so in the best possible way, might I suggest the incredible "Charlie Parker Played Be Bop". It's loony and lovable and just the right combination of unpredictable elements all merging together at once. A truly wild and wonderful picture book. Well done, Mr. Raschka. Well done.

I searched for this book after my 22 month old son's daycare provider shared how he had memorized it, and when prompted with "Charlie Parker plays..." would delightedly shout out "bee-bop!" We found it when on a trip for my sister's wedding, and we astounded all the relatives when he had essentially memorized the book. He would scat "fisk fisk" and "overshoes overshoes overshoes oh." He literally knows half the book. He had us all in stitches. The illustrations in this book are fun, bright, and playful. The words trip across the page like the music does. It doesn't grow tiresome after repeated readings. I highly recommend this book. And maybe play a little Bird while you're reading it!

I purchased this book because I love Charlie Parker and wanted to share that love with my then 6-month-old son (he's been listening to Charlie Parker on Phil Schaap's Birdflight since he came home from the hospital).It immediately became his favorite book (he has over 100) and INSISTS that it be read to him 4-5 times per day. Frequently, we will have just finished it and he reaches for it again. One of his first 7 words is pa-ka (Parker)...it is his first two-syllable word! I would teach him to say "Bird," but I think that would confuse him right now. :-)The pictures are wonderful! I particularly like the one of "Charlie Parker Played No Trombone" which shows Bird looking at a trombone and scratching his head.The words and sounds are wonderful and convey the feeling and flavor of "Be Bop."My son particularly loves the mysterious kitty...My son is now 13 months old and it's still his favorite book BY FAR!"Never leave your cat a-lone..."

I saw this book on "Between the Lions" and I loved it, so I bought it. I figured my daughter (then about 18 months) wouldn't have any interest, but I'd keep it until she got older. Boy, was I wrong. She loves it. She loves looking at it by herself and she loves us to read it to her. I'm not a major jazz fan, but the book is impossible to read without feeling the rhythm. The illustrations are fun and the cat looks just like ours!

Picked this book up at the Library after it was featured on PBS's Between The Lions. My son never put the book down, so we bought it. The book is fun, easy to read for children, and the pictures are great. Both my boys have it memorized and read it often.