Django: World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist

by Bonnie Christensen

New York:  Flash Point/Roaring Book Press (2009)

Jean "Django" Reinhardt was born in Belgium in January 1910 and grew up living a wandering gypsy life, "Always moving place to place,/Country to country/...Hard life everywhere" (pages not numbered).  Bonnie Christensen's biography describes his life with vivid language and stunning illustrations, showing the reader both his hardships and his triumphs.

In Django:  World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist, the reader learns the importance of music in Django's life.  Although he is ever-moving, never stable, music holds a certain power for him.  There are pages and pages of beautiful illustrations showing the movement of dancers and musicians at night, enjoying the rhythm and the freedom of making music.  On one page in particular, one dancer breaks the frame that surrounds every other illustration; her hand floats up in the air, her eyes are clothes, and the reader gets the feeling that she is losing herself in the song.  Meanwhile, we follow Django as he grows up, catching fish and meat for dinner even as a boy.  Later, we see him playing on the streets of Paris, where he was called "Gypsy Genius" and "Prodigy Boy."  Tragically, he suffers terrible burns when he is 18 years old on his hand and leg, and the doctors said he would never play again.  These pages, in stark contrast to the bright colors of the rest of the book, are lean.  He is surrounded by bare, white walls and empty beds in the hospital, and people appear on the edges of the page, as though they don't want to get close.  The text echoes his loneliness and despair.  However, once the bandages are off, he picks up a guitar and teaches himself a new way to play with his non-functioning fingers.  In the end, he plays for a group of people who, at first doubtful of his skill, are so happy to hear him play once again.

This is an amazing story.  I had never heard of Django, but I looked up some of his music and he is amazing.  On the inside of the book jacket, Willie Nelson is quoted saying, "No one has ever equaled his sound or technique."  Learning about this musician and all that he went through was very inspiring and definitely exposed me to a new kind of music.  This would be a great book to read to students when studying different types of music because Django came from such an unusual background.

The illustrations in this book are incredible.  They are delicate yet deliberate, showing distinct expressions even on slightly blurred faces.  The colors are vibrant and convey the message of deep joy in music, and the use of the frame around each page remind the reader that this is a biography.  A great story to introduce the struggles that artists often go through, Django is definitely an excellent addition to any classroom library.

Django:  World's Greatest Jazz Guitarist won the Schneider Family Book Award in 2010.