Blues Journey
Publication Information
Author:  Myers, Walter Dean	Illustrator:  Myers, Christopher
Title:  Blues Journey	Date:  2003
Publisher:  Holiday House	City:  New York
ISBN, paperback:  0-8234-1613-5	ISBN, hardback:
Recommended audience:
ABE/ABLE:   Yes	ESOL:
Family:	Young Adult:
Picture:   Yes
General Information:
Book Type(s):    nonfiction, poetry
HSE Descriptor(s):
Summary:
Father and son team up to celebrate the blues in beautiful illustrations and lyrics. A short essay introduces the reader to the history and structure of blues. A timeline and glossary enable the reader to immerse himself in the form.
Teaching Ideas:
Individual poems could be read aloud and the relationship between the text and illustration discussed. This book joins a small but mesmerizing text set on African American music, including Igus'I See the Rhythm , Shange's I Live in Music, and Lester's The Blues Singers. Learners interested in the actual music can find recordings at the local library to share with the class as well as searching the Internet for more information on the blues musicians mentioned in the book's timeline. This PBS web site is a good place to start with film, music, lyrics, biographies, and resources: www.pbs.org/theblues/. The introductory essay on the form of blues encourages learners to find the call and response in their favorite blues lyrics.
Teaching Strategies:
Bleich's Heuristic for Responding to Reading    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/bleichs_heuristic.pdf
Helping Students in the Writing Process    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/help_writing_process.pdf
Matrices or Charts    http://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/matrices_charts.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 > loneliness Emotions-Personal Issues > emotions > loss Hardships Hardships > adversity Music > blues Art and Photography > art > symbolism Literature and Language > lyrics

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