Sweethearts of Rhythm: The story of the greatest all-girl swing band in the world
Publication Information
Author:  Nelson, Marilyn	Illustrator:  Pinkney, Jerry
Title:  Sweethearts of Rhythm: The story of the greatest all-girl swing band in the world	Date:  2009
Publisher:  Dial Books	City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  978-0-8037-3187-5	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:	Young Adult:   Yes
Picture:   Yes
General Information:
Book Type(s):    poetry
HSE Descriptor(s):    language arts - reading| social studies
Summary:
The 16-member, all-woman, racially diverse swing band The International Sweethearts of Rhythm from the war years of the 1940's are brought to life by the idiomatic speech and rhythms of Nelson's poetry and by Pinkney's vibrant illlustrations. The individual instruments speak in the poems. End matter gives the reader additional information. The type face may be difficult for beginning readers.
Teaching Ideas:
Read aloud or Readers' Theater would emphasize the "voice" and rhythms of the instruments. This book belongs in an unusual text set in which authors attempt to capture music in words and type face: Toyomi Igus - I See the Rythym, Jaime Adoff - Song Shoots Out of My Mouth, Wynton Marsalis - Jazz ABZ. The Author's and Artist's Notes provide material for discussing the process of writing and illustrating. Research more on this band. Listen to their music and move to it or draw to it. Working with personification.
Teaching Strategies:
Bleich's Heuristic for Responding to Reading    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/bleichs_heuristic.pdf
Copy Change    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/copy_change.pdf
Helping Students in the Writing Process    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/help_writing_process.pdf
Reader's Theater    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/readers_theater.pdf
Sketch to Stretch    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/sketch_stretch.pdf
Keywords: select any link below for a list of resources which also have that keyword
Ethnic Groups > African-American Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > determination/perseverance Music > rhythm Social Studies > sociology > women Social Studies > sociology > social issues > racism Social Studies > sociology > social issues > racism > segregation Music > swing Literature and Language > poetry Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > independence Emotions-Personal Issues > personal issues > individual > collaboration

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