LS 5603 Picture Books - Giant Steps

In reviewing a picture book illustrated by Chris Raschka, I choose John Coltrane's Giant Steps.

Bibliographic Data
Raschka, Chris. 2002. John Coltrane's Giant Steps. New York: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division. ISBN: 9780689845987

Plot Summary
An announcement is made. "Thank you for coming to our book. We have something very special for you tonight." Then Raschka's "remix" of John Coltrane's Giant Steps begins. It is a watercolor interpretation of the jazz song using a box, snowflake, raindrops and a kitten to "perform." The foundation, tempo, harmony and melody are represented by Chris Raschka's illustrations instead of the usual musical instruments.

Critical Analysis
Chris Raschka begins Giant Steps by informing the reader of John Coltrane's "marvelous and tricky composition." Raschka sets the scene for the music to begin and grow by simple watercolor images of raindrops. As he adds each additional element to the music, the colors begin to overlap and merge until they appear to be a jumbled mess. He then yells, "stop!" The word is huge, taking up half of a page, and the watercolors seem to be sliding to an abrupt halt. It almost makes the reader jump to a stop right along with the box, snowflake, raindrops and kitten.

Chris Raschka now begins to direct the watercolors into a pattern more congruent with Coltrane's music. Raschka corrects each section and even gives examples of what pages need to be changed. For example, he tells the raindrops that they "were rushing on page 19," and how to correct this problem.

The text and soft watercolor illustrations are finished with a bowing kitten and a "Bravo, everyone." The watercolor Raschka used in John Coltrane's Giant Steps created a perfect illustration of how music is created by different aspects layering on one another. This would also be a great book to read and then look at while listening to the song so that children could see how words, pictures and music can all be connected.

Review Excerpts
Children's BookPage: "This is a charming, elegant book for young people just being introduced to the world of jazz. "
The Horn Book: "As with Raschka’s other jazz books, we are thrown right into a world in which paint, composition, and color don’t just depict music, they become the musical experience. "

Connections
This book brings to mind an art exercise many have probably done where the artist, or student, listens to a piece of music and draws or paints what they hear. John Coltrane's Giant Steps would be a simple yet effective way to teach children about music and art while also getting them to read.

Chris Raschka wrote other books on jazz music as well.
Raschka, Chris. Charlie Parker Played Be Bop. ISBN 0531059995
Raschka, Chris. Mysterious Thelonious. ISBN 0531300579