Ben's Trumpet

With its silver and black cover, angled title, and silhouettes, Ben's Trumpet, a Caldecott Honor Book, announces to readers that they are in for a stylish ride. With simple text and stunning black and white illustrations, Isadora tells the story of Ben, a young boy who lives in the inner city, not far from the Zig Zag Jazz Club. On hot nights, Ben sits on the fire escape and plays his "trumpet" (even the cover communicates that it is an imaginary one) along with the trumpeter, who, as far as Ben is concerned, is "the cat's meow". Ben's family tolerates his "playing", but the candy store kids are less kind, shaming Ben for his imaginative playing. Isadora's tale has a rewarding and uplifting ending that involves one of the musicians from show more the jazz club taking Ben under his wing. All artistic creation, all achievement, the author seems to stay, begins in the imagination, but dreams require nurturing and mentoring, too.

I'm not sure what medium Isadora has used to create her illustrations. They appear to be pen and ink. Whatever they are, they're stunning: the epitome of "cool". Each of the musicians at the jazz club--the pianist, the trombonist, the drummer, the saxophonist, and the trumpeter--gets his own page, and Isadora manages to communicate through her art the effort and focus each musician brings to the jazz ensemble. The drummer's page is particularly notable--all done in jittery lines to suggest the rattling and percussion.

Ben's Trumpet would be a neat book to use to introduce jazz to kids, but it is an also provides interesting examples of how visual art can suggest movement and sound. show less

A young boy, who is - by the look of it - growing up in the 1920s, Ben loves to listen to the music spilling out of the local jazz joint, the Zig Zag Club, and to imagine that he too can play the trumpet. He watches the musicians, and feels the music. He 'plays' for his family on his invisible trumpet, and even receives a compliment from the club trumpeter, whose own playing is the "cat's meow." But when the neighborhood boys ridicule his imaginary instrument, Ben's trumpeting is at an end. Or is it...?

A Caldecott Honor book from 1980, this brief picture-book was chosen as one of our March selections, over in the Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is music. But although its themes are appealing, and its show more narrative - despite its brevity - engaging, the best part of Rachel Isadora's Ben's Trumpet is the dramatic black-and-white artwork, with its bold silhouettes, zigzagging lines, and curved figures. The illustrations here really come alive, and were well deserving of the honors they won! Recommended to all young would-be musicians and jazz lovers, as well as to anyone who appreciates a skilled melding of word and image. show less

A young African American boy desires to become a jazz player. He wants to play the trumpet like others in his neighborhood. The illustrations are amazing, even though it is all black and white. Isadora intersects the negative and positive space to create great illustrations. A great read aloud book.

Ben is a young boy who adores jazz music. He practices every night on his imaginary trumpet while he listens to the music that comes from the Zig Zag Jazz Club. He plays his trumpet for his friends and family. He looses his spirit when some kids start to make fun of him for not having a real trumpet. He mopes around until a trumpeter asks, "Where is your horn?" The young boy says, "I don't have one." The story ends with the trumpeter letting the boy use his trumpet. I love this book for two main reasons. The first is, being a musician, I can relate to the young boy. Rachel Isadora perfectly captured the young boy's love for music. You can tell he does not just listen to the music, but he feels it. The second thing is I love how it is in show more all black and white. I interpreted this as letting the music be the coloring of the book. show less

Ben grew up across the street from the Zig Zag Jazz Club and listened to the music from the club every evening. Ben would join in and play his imaginary trumpet. Ben admired the musicians at the club, the drummer, the pianist, the saxophonist, the trombonist, but most of all the trumpeter. Constantly playing his imaginary trumpet Ben always feels the rhythm of jazz in his soul. One day, the trumpeter from the club notices Ben playing his imaginary trumpet and even says a few words to him. Ben plays his trumpet for everyone. One day after school Ben is playing his trumpet, the kids in front the candy store start laughing at him because he has no trumpet. Ben was feeling the rhythm. Upset that he was being laughed at Ben heads home show more embarrassed. Ben still watches the Zig Zag Jazz Club that evening, but this time he isn’t playing along with the musicians. The trumpeter notices that Ben is no longer playing along and walks across the street to talk to him. Ben is invited over to the club and the trumpeter gives Ben his first real experience blowing his horn. I love this book! I think Rachel Isadora’s use of art-deco style images captures the feeling of jazz perfectly. Growing up in a city of jazz, the contrast of black and white that is used really embodies how I picture New Orleans. I can imagine walking through my city and seeing everything in black and white, just like in Isadora’s images in the book. show less

This is a very creative picture book that utilizes the colors white and black only! A young boy loves to watch a trumpet player play at a local jazz club during their practice. When the boy goes home he always pretends like he is playing a trumpet. The boy dreams of being just like the trumpet player. At the end of the book, the young boy meets his idol and gets to play a real trumpet!

This is a great children's story focused on music and dreams. This picture book really speaks through the images, as if you can almost hear the music as a reader. The imagery is very nice and displays, perfectly, the emotions behind this young boy growing up in the jazz age. The main character is the young boy who is poor and cannot afford his own trumpet.Although, this challenges him sings and plays, spreading joy to his community. He longs for his dream to be a real trumpet player like the other cool cats. Not everyone loves the fact that he plays an imaginary trumpet, but through their differences Ben gets a new opportunity to share his music with the world.