Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll

by Tonya Bolden (Author) R Gregory Christie (Illustrator)

Rock, Rosetta, Rock! Roll, Rosetta, Roll!: Presenting Sister Rosetta Tharpe, the Godmother of Rock & Roll
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

"A profile as bold and vivacious as the singer herself." --Kirkus (starred review)

Perfect for fans of Trombone Shorty and Ada's Violin!

Award-winning author Tonya Bolden and acclaimed illustrator R. Gregory Christie deliver an inspiring true story about the life, career, and impact of 20th-century blues and gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, who was a trailblazer for rock-and-roll. Includes a timeline of Sister Rosetta Tharpe's life, author's note, and a list of sources.Before there was Elvis, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Johnny Cash, there was Sister Rosetta Tharpe.

The godmother of rock & roll started as a little girl from Arkansas with music in her air, in her hair, in her bones, wiggling her toes. With a big guitar in hand and a big voice in her soul, she grew into a rock & roll trailblazer in a time when women were rarely seen rocking out. Her guitar picking was like nobody else's!

Boogie along with this rockin' tribute to the Rock n' Roll Hall of Famer Sister Rosetta Tharpe by Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Tonya Bolden and Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator R. Gregory Christie.

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Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus

Starred Review
A profile as bold and vivacious as the singer herself.

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review

Bolden keeps the music foremost in readers’ minds as she tracks Tharpe’s life spent singing in fields, churches, and concert halls, a chorus of “Rock, Rosetta, rock! Roll, Rosetta, roll!” following her.... Terrific for all collections that want to encourage the musically inclined and highlight innovative pioneers. 


School Library Journal

Gr 1-4--Rosetta Tharpe was an American singer and guitarist who rose up in gospel music and broke into the mainstream of American music in the 1930s and 1940s. She influenced many well-known musicians, including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Little Richard, and Aretha Franklin. Told in free verse, this picture book biography chronicles her life, from her upbringing in rural Cotton Plant, AK, to accompanying her preacher mother to Chicago, to making a life for herself in New York City. She sang in churches and nightclubs, including the Cotton Club and the Apollo in Harlem. Christie's vibrant illustrations bring the story to life with movement and punch, matching Tharpe's personality. A time line in the back matter further fleshes out her personal life and career. VERDICT A fresh and female addition to the music legend canon, just in time for Black History Month displays. Purchase where picture book biographies, especially those about musicians/rock history, circulate well.--Jennifer Noonan

Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Music reverberates throughout this striking biographical tribute to rock and roll trailblazer Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915-1973). Starting as a "pint-size sensation in tiny/ Cotton Plant, Arkansas," Tharpe is known for having "music in your air,/ in your hair,/ in your bones,/ wiggling your toes." Traveling to Chicago with her mother, she accompanies Mama's preaching in churches, at revivals, and on street corners, until, "all grown," she "gifted Gospel music big-time/ to people all over the place," interweaving the form with "cousin Boogie-Woogie,/ Cousin Jazz,/ Cousin Swing,/ Cousin the big, bad Blues." As she performs the world over, her style introduces a sound that saw "lots of younger cats--some future legends--/ ... Diggin' your licks./ Coppin' your style." Bolden uses alliteration, assonance, repetition, and rhythm to create an irresistibly musical text that effectively communicates the feel of Tharpe's music. Christie's lively illustrations render elongated forms with exaggerated expressions against color-block backgrounds, capturing the physicality of Tharpe's performance style and the intensity of her sound. A timeline and author's note follow. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 

Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9780062994387
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
HarperCollins
Publication date
February 14, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF018010 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JNF007040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Music
JNF025210 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | United States/20th Century
JNF007120 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Biography & Autobiography | Women
Library of Congress categories
Biographies
Picture books
United States
African American women
Arkansas
Women singers
Blues musicians
Rhythm and blues musicians
Tharpe, Rosetta
Gospel singers

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