Odetta: The Queen of Folk by Stephen Alcorn

 

Title: Odetta: The Queen of Folk 

Genre: Nonfiction: Biography 

Author: Stephen Alcorn

Major Awards: No Major Awards

Age group: Ages 5-9  

Summary: 

This book is about the life and music success of Odetta, an American folk legend. It was based on the artistic relationship and friendship that the author, Stephen Alcorn and Odetta shared before she passed away.

Evaluation: 

Appropriate grade levels for this book would be 1^st grade to 3^rd grade. I loved all the vibrant colors the illustrations had and the way the poems and the illustrations came together. The illustrations told the story of her life and everything she went through to get to her musical success. I think this would be a great book to read during Black History Month and shared to my students a couple of great African American legends. I probably wouldn’t combine it with an instructional lesson since I’m not pursuing a music degree, but I could just do a read aloud with it. It would be more beneficial in a music class during this month and then students can learn and play folk music.