Little Melba and Her Big Trombone

Description:

A biography of African American jazz virtuoso Melba Doretta Liston, a pioneering twentieth-century trombone player, composer, and music arranger at a time when few women, of any race, played brass instruments and were part of the jazz scene.

Brief description:

Katheryn Russell-Brown is the award-winning author of several children's picture books, including Little Melba and Her Big Trombone and She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm. When not writing picture books, Russell-Brown is a professor of law, teaching and researching on issues of race and crime and the sociology of law. Learn more at krbrown.net.

Review Quotes:

* "Russell-Brown's debut text has an innate musicality, mixing judicious use of onomatopoeia with often sonorous prose. Morrison's sinuous, exaggerated lines are the perfect match for Melba's story. . . Readers will agree that 'Melba Doretta Liston was something special.'" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Staccato rhythms pepper the fluid prose . . . Morrison's oil paintings practically sway with a jazz beat, though somber moments crop up, too: the shadows on Liston's face signify the trials of life on the road. A final image showing long-limbed Liston in profile as she plays under the glow of stage lights is exquisite." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

* "An excellent match of breezy text and dynamic illustrations tells an exhilarating story. . . A celebration of the talent and success of a little-known African American female musician, this title will enrich library collections." -- School Library Journal, starred review

"In a smoothly passed narrative, this picture-book biography surveys the full life arc of a relatively unknown and unique jazz master. Brimming with inherent and inescapable enthusiasm, the oil-painting illustrations are the cat's pajamas, with brassy colors and jazzy perspectives that slide across the long pages, like Melba's own instrument." -- Booklist

"Russell-Brown's account of her subject's early life is as smooth and stimulating as a Liston trombone solo, and will leave readers wanting to know more about the woman and her music. Morrison's oil paintings, in his trademark elongated, angular style, perfectly convey the jazz scene and, of course, Melba's amazing horn." -- The Horn Book

"Little Melba and Her Big Trombone will delight every child who carries a rhythm or song in their heart." -- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

"Little Melba and Her Big Trombone is a finger-popping slice of history that offers a peep-hole into the little-known world of a female jazz players of the 1920s." -- New York Journal of Books

Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)
NAACP Image Awards Nominee - National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)

ALSC Notable Children's Books - American Library Association (ALA)
Amelia Bloomer Book List - American Library Association (ALA)
Best Books - Kirkus Reviews
Best Books of the Year - School Library Journal
Best Children's Books of the Year Outstanding - Bank Street College of Education
Best Multicultural Books - Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature
Best of the Best Books - Chicago Public Library
Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee - Maryland Association of School Librarians
CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Delaware Diamonds Awards - Diamond State Reading Association
Eureka! Nonfiction Children's Book Award Honor - California Reading Association
Georgia Children's Book Award - Picture Storybook for Grades K-4 Nominee 2025 - 2016 - University of Georgia
Louisiana Young Readers' Choice - State Library of Louisiana
Notable Books for a Global Society - International Literacy Association (ILA)
Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Recommended - National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)