Take-off!: American All-girl Bands During WWII by Tonya Bolden

Bolden, Tonya. Take-off!: American All-girl Bands During WWII. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2007. 80 pages. ISBN-10:0375827978. ISBN-13: 978-0375827976.

Plot:

Prior to WWII, it was considered inappropriate for women to play jazz music. When many male musicians joined or were drafted into the military, it left an opening that needed to be filled and female musicians were there to take over. Tonya Bolden highlights several of these musicians and the bands for which they played. She explains what jazz and swing music are and then the book is split into three sections, each highlighting a specific band. The first section focuses on Ada Leonard’s All-American Girl Orchestra, one of the first all-female jazz bands. It features interviews and quotes from some of the musicians, such as Janie Sager, Norma Carson, and Fagel Liebman. The women tell of their experiences traveling, playing, and breaking into what was previously strictly a man’s domain. They also talk about their experiences outside the band and how they got into playing music. Section two focuses on The Prairie View State College Co-Eds, a band made up of female students from the all black Prairie View State College. The women interviewed – Clora Bryant, Margaret Grisbey, Helen Cole, and others – talk about their love of music, the wonderful places they got to play, and their experiences with the band. The section also talks about the prejudices they had to face as an all black, all girl band trying to play in the South. The third section focuses on the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, a band that was started at the Piney Woods School. One of the unique features of this band was that it featured players from many cultural and racial backgrounds. Their story tells of how they started at their high school, but the school took advantage of them. The girls traveled and played, raising money for the school, while their educations suffered and they were given little pay. After breaking with the school, their manager also took advantage of them, but they eventually were able to break free and play the music they loved. When the war ended, the men returned and expected their jobs back, including that of playing in jazz and swing bands. Many women tried to continue playing, some did not. Of those who continued, not all were able to be successful. All the women have fond memories of their time, however.

Critical Evaluation:

Take-off!: American All-girl Bands During WWII is an easy to read look at a very interesting time in American history. The book doesn’t go into too much detail about the subject, but it does provide an overview and some fun facts, as well as an extensive bibliography should the reader choose to do more research. The inclusion of pictures, posters, and newspaper clippings really brings the subject to life. Direct quotes and stories from the musicians remind the readers that these are real women’s lives they’re reading about, including many women who are still alive today. Including a CD of music from many of the bands that are featured is a fun bonus that also serves to personalize the stories even more.

Bolden uses slang that was popular during that time period and writes in a choppy, quick style. This makes the book jump along quickly, like the jazz music that is its subject, and adds a little more historical depth. It does, however, make the book hard to follow at times. Other than that, it’s an easy read that should appeal to even the most reluctant readers of non-fiction.

Reader's Annotation:

When many male jazz musicians were called overseas for WWII, women were finally allowed a chance to show their talent.

Author Information:

Tonya Bolden was born on March 1, 1959 in New York City and grew up in Harlem. She graduated from the Chapin School in Manhattan and then went on to attend Princeton. At the same time, she joined the Westside Repertory Theatre Group, where she worked as an actor, stage manager, assistant director, and set builder. After graduating from Princeton, she worked for a dress manufacturing company while working towards her masters at Columbia. She has worked as an office coordinator for Raoulfilm, Inc, an editorial assistant to William E. Rice and as a college English instructor.

She published her first book in 1990. She is the author or co-author of close to 30 books, most of which are non-fiction. Several of her non-fiction works focus on African-American women. She published works for both adults and young adults.

Genre:

Non-Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

History: WWII
Music: Swing and Jazz Female Bands

Booktalking Ideas:

• Explain some of the slang used in the book.
• Talk about women taking over many men's jobs during WWII and the challenges they faced.
• Read the "What is Swing" page.
• Give a brief bio for one of the musicians featured.
  

Reading Level/Interest Age:

12 and older

Challenge Issues:

None

Challenge Defense Ideas:

If there were challenges:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This was mentioned as a good non-fiction book in the class text. I really like music from that time period, so I decided to check it out.

Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial by Penny Colman

Colman, Penny. Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial. Henry Holt and Co, . 224 pages. ISBN-10: 0805050663. ISBN-13: 978-0805050660.

Plot:

Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial covers everything a person would want to know about the historical and cultural practices surrounding death and burial. Colman begins by explaining her reasoning for writing the book, including her own experiences with death. The first two chapters focus on defining and understanding death. She includes personal stories, historical information, and other facts surrounding exactly how humans define and understand the process of dying. The next step is, of course, what happens to a body after death in a chapter over decomposition, embalming, autopsies, and transplants. The next four chapters cover the various ways that people deal with corpses, including burial, cremation, locations, and customs. One of the chapters focuses solely on the way to dispose of corpses, one on items used to contain the remains, one over burial sites, and one over customs and ceremonies. The final chapter covers images of death in art, including statuary, literature, and music. Colman also includes additional information at the end of the book about epitaphs, burial sites of famous people, burial instructions, and gravestone carvings.

Critical Evaluation:

Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial is fascinating. Colman takes a very sensitive topic and addresses it with straight-forward style that is admirable. She manages to combine emotion and fact in a way that makes this book both personal and educational. Her writing is simple, but she doesn’t talk down to her audience. Though this is considered a young adult book, it could easily have been written for adults.

The layout of the book is very functional. Colman chooses to split the subject of death and dying into eight main sections presented in a logical order. By writing about customs and history from around the world, she covers almost every aspect of death that could be of interest. She also includes personal stories from herself and others she has interviewed, as well as photographs. This keeps the book from becoming too clinical in its examination of the subject.

Death is a subject that people fear for many reasons. By choosing to write about the subject in such an informative and sensitive way, Colman has made a great contribution to non-fiction. Reading this book could lead to a really good discussion.

Reader's Annotation:

Penny Colman delves into the fascinating, complicated, and often sad history of death and burial.

Author Information:

Penny Colman was born September 2, 1944 in Denver, Colorado. She also lived in Washington, Oregon, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania all before the age of five. Her family finally settled in Warren, Pennsylvania where they lived on the grounds of the Warren State Hospital where her father worked as a psychiatrist. She attended Western College for Women, but dropped out after two years to hitchhike around Europe. When she returned, she attended the University of Michigan and then went on to receive a masters in Teaching from Johns Hopkins.

She solely writes non-fiction and primarily writes books about women. Her childhood visits to museums and historical sites inspired her love of history, though she noticed that there was often a dearth of information on the historical contributions of women. She has set about to rectify that with her books.

Genre:

Non-Fiction

Curriculum Ties:

History: Dealing with death through the ages
Cultural Anthropology: Death and Burial customs
Science: Embalming

Booktalking Ideas:

• Discuss some burial customs for various cultures.
• Explain Colman's reasons for writing the book as stated on page 9.
• Give a brief overview of some of the topics included in the book.
  

Reading Level/Interest Age:

14 and older

Challenge Issues:

Some gruesome descriptions
Discussion of death

Challenge Defense Ideas:

• Require the challenger to fill out a written challenge form with clear reasons stated and examples given.
• If not already familiar with the content, become familiar.
• Refer the challenger to the library's collection policy.
• Refer the challenger to reputable reviews of the books, as well as reviews by those in the book's target audience.

Reasons for Selection:

This was listed as a good non-fiction book for teens in our class text. I thought the subject sounded really interesting.