The first half’s text is stronger than the second, but still, a beautifully illustrated celebration of the life of a talented musician.

This children's book is incredible for all ages and tells the story of Melba Doretta Liston and the impact that music had on her life. It talks about her and her love for music since she was 7 all the way to when she was an adult. The story also alludes to much bigger issues as well and talks about the problem that white people had with people of color performing as an artist. I believe that this story is important to have in the classroom to show students the impact that African-American culture has on modern-day music. This biography is perfect for students of all ages and is inspirational for all ages as well, it's a great story with a great moral that everyone can learn from.

Melba Liston was a musical virtuoso. She was also African American, and struggled to perform in the segregated South. An inspiring tale of persistence and overcoming a lot of adversity to achieve success. ( )

As long and she could remember, Melba loved the sound of music. Music was Melba’s heart and soul; she walked into a music store and fell in love with the trombone. Despite being a little girl Melba picked up that heavy trombone and practiced late into the night. She became better and better which made some jealous of her. Her talents grew and she set out on the road with a new band. She would get lonely since she was the only female in the band but her music kept her company. She became a well-known musician but she faced hard times. Traveling down South being a person of color was hard almost making Melba walk away from her trombone for good but her fans wouldn't let her quit. She became known worldwide. Brown wrote the perfect story to portray the life of Melba’s music career, which inspires me to never give up on anything I do even if there are things that knock me down. ( )