Andrews, Troy. Trombone Shorty. New York, Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2015
Trombone Shorty is an autobiography written by Troy Andrews and illustrated by Bryan Collier. It is the winner of two awards: the 2016 Caldecott Award honors and 2016 Coretta Scott King Book Awards Illustrator Award. It is an autobiography of grammy nominated musician, Troy Andrews.
The book starts off with a fun introduction, “Where y’at?,” which exemplifies the New Orleans flavor peppered throughout the story. The author describes the importance of music in his hometown of Tremé, a neighborhood in New Orleans, and the positive influence of his family, particularly his older brother, James. He takes the reader through his experiences of mimicking his older brother and watching the brass instruments at parades such as Mardi Gras. He shares how he and his friends made their own instruments and taught themselves how to play by constantly playing and playing and playing. Inspired by music, he grabbed the trombone and joined a musical parade, earning him his nickname, Trombone Shorty, because the instrument dwarfed his body. He writes, “I was so small that sometimes I fell right over to the ground because it was so heavy.” He shares he was not dissuaded and kept listening and playing, teaching himself song after song. At age 4, he went to New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (Jazz Fest) and was called on stage and played “Follow Me” with Bo Diddley. Soon after, he formed his own band, “The 5 O’Clock Band.” He continued to practice, play, and learn. He is currently a professional, Grammy nominated musician and philanthropist. His present band is “Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.” He plays music around the world, but revisits his New Orleans roots and regularly plays at Jazz Fest.
The story is told over 17 spreads and includes an author’s note with supplementary, autobiographical information and photographs of him as a child. The realistic illustrations are painted with rich, deep hues. The New Orleans flair is present via illustrations such as a Mardi Gras parade, gumbo, and the fleur di lis. The phrase, “Where y’at?” is introduced as a friendly greeting. It’s repeated in a distinctive font throughout the book, which help the readers become active participants. The artist uses lines to enhance the story. For example, a line flows from the tuba across the gumbo and into the trumpet as the text as the author compares cooking to music making by combining many things to make one creation. He also has lines beaming behind musicians heads as their playing. The concept of constant practice discussed in the text is also reinforced by images; he is almost always shown either holding, playing or pretending to play an instrument throughout the book.
Trombone Shorty is a motivational story and could be used as curriculum support for character education reinforcing the importance of hard work and practice. The author has accomplished much in his young career; he was age 34 at the time this was published. This can be quite inspirational.
Book Notes 