ARTIST * ILLUSTRATOR * AUTHOR
SKIT-SCAT RAGGEDY CAT ELLA FITZGERALD
written by Roxane Orgill
illustrated by Sean Qualls
illustrated by Sean Qualls
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When Ella Fitzgerald danced the Lindy Hop on the streets of 1930s Yonkers, passersby said good-bye to their loose change. But for a girl who was orphaned and hungry, with raggedy clothes and often no place to spend the night, small change was not enough. One amateur night at Harlem’s Apollo Theater, Ella made a discovery: the dancing beat in her feet could travel up and out of her mouth in a powerful song —and the feeling of being listened to was like a salve to her heart. With lively prose, Roxane Orgill follows the gutsy Ella from school-girl days to a featured spot with Chick Webb’s band and all the way to her number-one radio hit "A-Tisket, A-Tasket." Jazzy mixed-media art by illustrator Sean Qualls brings the singer’s indomitable spirit to life. |
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Qualls creates spreads that reflect the propulsive trajectory of Fitzgerald’s life in an age when everybody was dancing; successive portraits show her turning page by page into a star.
-Publisher's Weekly *Starred Review* |