Ages 7-10; Gr.2-3.
In ancient India, a boy named Bhagat travels to the Rajah's city, hoping to ensure his family's prosperity by winning a place at court as a singer. Bhagat carries his family's entire fortune - a single coin and a chain of seven golden rings - to pay for his lodging. But when the innkeeper demands one ring per night, and every link snipped costs one coin, how can Bhagat both break the chain and avoid overpaying?

Lexile measure 670; Ages 8-10; Gr.2-5.
Here is the story of "Hot Miss Lil" Hardin Armstrong, legendary jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader--and a female pioneer on the music stage.

Lexile measure AD600L; Ages 4-8; Gr.3-5.
An incredibly moving picture book biography of the man behind the hymn "Amazing Grace" and the living legacy of the song.

Lexile measure 710; Ages 8-10; Gr.4-6.
Clayton feels most alive when he's with his grandfather, Cool Papa Byrd, and the band of Bluesmen--he can't wait to join them, just as soon as he has a blues song of his own. But then the unthinkable happens. Cool Papa Byrd dies, and Clayton's mother forbids Clayton from playing the blues. And Clayton knows that's no way to live.

Lexile measure e700; Ages 9-12; Gr.4-6; Mathical honor book.
Twelve-year-old Rose Brutigan has grown seven inches in the last eight months. She's always been different from her twin brother, Thomas, but now she towers over him in too many ways. The gap in their interests continues to widen as well. Musically talented Rose is focused on winning the upcoming Bach Cello Suites Competition, while happy-go-lucky Thomas has taken up the challenge of growing a giant pumpkin in the yard of their elderly neighbor, Mr. Pickering.

Gr.3-5.
Celebrate the life of Lena Horne, the pioneering African American actress and civil rights activist, with this inspiring and powerful picture book from award-winning author Carole Boston Weatherford.

Lexile measure 990; Gr.2-6.
From Newbery Honor winner Patricia C. McKissack and two-time Caldecott Honor winner Brian Pinkney comes an extraordinary must-have collection of classic playtime favorites.

Ages 6-10; Gr.2-5.
Miriam Makeba, a Grammy Award-winning South African singer, rose to fame in the hearts of her people at the pinnacle of apartheid--a brutal system of segregation similar to American Jim Crow laws. Mama Africa, as they called her, raised her voice to help combat these injustices at jazz clubs in Johannesburg; in exile, at a rally beside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; and before the United Nations.

Lexile measure 820; Ages 5-8; Gr.2-5
From award-winning author Susan Hood and illustrator Sally Wern Comport comes the extraordinary true tale of the Recycled Orchestra of Paraguay, an orchestra made up of children playing instruments built from recycled trash.

Lexile measure 910; Ages 6-9; Gr.2-6. Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor book, 2017.
Juan Garcia Esquivel was born in Mexico and grew up to the sounds of mariachi bands. He loved music and became a musical explorer. Defying convention, he created music that made people laugh and planted images in their minds.

Ages 8-12; Gr.3-7.
What happens when you invite as many jazz musicians as you can to pose for a photo in 1950s Harlem? Playful verse and glorious artwork capture an iconic moment for American jazz.

Lexile measure 1060; Ages 8-12; Gr.4 and up.
Enslaved African Americans longed for freedom, and that longing took many forms--including music. Drawing on biblical imagery, slave songs both expressed the sorrow of life in bondage and offered a rallying cry for the spirit.

Ages 5-8; Gr.3 and up.
When sax player Charlie "Bird" Parker and trumpeter John "Dizzy" Gillespie make music together, they toss notes back and forth like a game of tag and chase each other with sounds.

Lexile measure 840; Ages 5-9; Gr.3-5.
Hailing from the Tremé neighborhood in New Orleans, Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews got his nickname by wielding a trombone twice as long as he was high. A prodigy, he was leading his own band by age six and today this Grammy-nominated artist headlines the legendary New Orleans Jazz Fest.

Ages 7-11, gr. 2-5.
Somali-Canadian poet, rapper, singer and songwriter K'naan tells his own story. When the Somali Civil War began in 1991, K'naan was just thirteen. His mother made the difficult decision to move her family so that they could grow up in safety.

Lexile measure 940, ages 8-12, gr. 2-5.
This is a picture book biography of Zitkala-Sa, born Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, a Native American woman at the turn of the nineteenth century. Zitkala-Sa was a writer, editor, musician, teacher, and political activist in a time when even basic education was uncommon among Native Americans.

Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2011; Notable Book for a Global Society 2012.; Ages 10-14, gr. 4-6.
Through poems and poetic prose pieces, acclaimed children's author Arnold Adoff celebrates that uniquely American form of music called the blues.

Ages 8-12, gr. 3-5.
Which Side Are You On? tells the story of the classic union song that was written in 1931 by Florence Reece in a rain of bullets. It has been sung by people fighting for their rights all over the world.

Lexile measure 820; Book level 4.7; Ages 6-10; Gr.3-6.
A swinging bio of young Ella Fitzgerald, who pushed through the toughest of times to become one of America's most beloved jazz singers.

Awards: Schneider Family Book Award, Young Children, 2010.; Awards: Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2010; Lexile measure 700; Book level 4; Ages 5-9
Born into a travelling gypsy family, young Django Reinhardt taught himself guitar at an early age. He was soon acclaimed as the "Gypsy Genius" and "Prodigy Boy," but one day his world changed completely when a fire claimed the use of his fretting hand. Folks said Django would never play again, but with passion and perserverance he was soon setting the world's concert stages ablaze.

Guided Reading Level P; Lexile measure 780; ages 7-10; book level 5.2
An introduction to the life of Marian Anderson, extraordinary singer and civil rights activist, who was the first African American to perform at the Metropolitan Opera, whose life and career encouraged social change.

Lexile measure 1040, ages 9-12, gr. 3-8
The blues is a low down feeling, but it can be made better with a song. Renowned author Julius Lester introduces ten of the hottest black blues singers of our time including Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin and B. B. King.

Ages 9-14, gr. 3-8.
This Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award-winning title celebrates African-American music by tracing the progression of black music from its traditional roots in Africa to contemporary hip hop. Full color.

Ages 4-8; Gr.2-4; Americas Award for Children & Young Adult Literature, Honor book, 1991.
Rhymes, chants, and games of Afro-Caribbean origin.

Gr. 4-8.