Spree: The Boy Who Made the Steelpan Sing

Description:

A debut picture book biography about Spree Simon, a young boy from Trinidad who brought the iconic steelpan to the attention of the world. From Trinidadian author and artist Celeste Mohammed and Cory Thomas, Spree celebrates innovation, collaboration, history, and music. For readers of Trombone Shorty and When Marian Sang. Includes a note from the author and additional resources.

When Winston "Spree" Simon and his family move to the city of John-John on the island of Trinidad, he quickly picks up on the rhythm of the bustling town. But as World War II makes its impact, factories close, people lose their jobs, and everyone fears what might happen next. Luckily, music remains to offer comfort, companionship, and joy.

For Spree, loving music means inventing new sounds. One of his favorite sounds is that of the steelpan, an instrument made from discarded pans, tins, and steel drums. And on Carnival Tuesday 1946--after a lot of practice, innovation, and trial and error--a teenage Spree leads his band in a parade throughout the city, playing an old steel pan with fourteen distinct notes, performing (among other things) Schubert's Ave Maria and God Save The King. This young pioneer musician and inventor was the first person to play a recognizable tune on a pan--producing a remarkable level of music from so called industrial waste.

Award-winning author Celeste Mohammed and illustrator Cory Thomas--both Trinidadian themselves--expertly balance the social and political facts of island history with a compelling narrative chronicling Spree's life. Thanks in part to his innovation and popularization of the steelpan, the instrument is now played around the world. Includes a note from the author and additional resources.

Brief description: Celeste Mohammed is the acclaimed author of Spree, a picture book about Winston "Spree" Simon, a young boy from Trinidad who brought the iconic steelpan to the attention of the world, and Pleasantview, winner of the 2022 Caribbean Readers Award among other honors. She has been a lawyer for the past nineteen years, but she has been making up stories all of her life. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, she graduated with an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Her work has appeared in The New England Review, Litmag, Epiphany, and The Rumpus, among other places. She has received numerous awards for her fiction writing. Celeste Mohammed lives in Trinidad with her family.

Review Quotes:

The streets of pre-World War II Trinidad ring with rhythm, invention, and possibility in this picture-book biography of Winston "Spree" Simon. Warm, expressive faces, loose linework, and watercolor-inspired splashes of color imbue the digitally illustrated scenes with energetic, scrappy charm. A toe-tapping ode to invention. - Kirkus Reviews

"Mohammed has created a book akin to Troy Andrews's Trombone Shorty and Carole Boston Weatherford's RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Thomas's signature artwork, featuring vivid watercolors, offers a visual love letter to Trinidad. Mohammed enhances the biography with playful uses of onomatopoeia, making it especially suitable for reading aloud in classrooms or during library story time." - School Library Journal

"This picture-book biography of Trinidadian musician Winston Simon, better known as Spree, begins like a folktale. It's a fitting start for the legend who made the world notice the steelpan's potential as a musical instrument. Accompanied by expressive, rainbow-hued illustrations." - Booklist

"Mohammed has created a book akin to Troy Andrews's Trombone Shorty and Carole Boston Weatherford's RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul. Thomas's signature artwork, featuring vivid watercolors, offers a visual love letter to Trinidad. Mohammed enhances the biography with playful uses of onomatopoeia, making it especially suitable for reading aloud in classrooms or during library story time." - School Library Journal (starred review)