Becoming Billie Holiday

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award The stunning voice and hard life of legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday is revealed through evocative, accessible poetry. In 1915, Sadie Fagan gave birth to a daughter she named Eleanora. The world, however, would know her as Billie Holiday, possibly the greatest jazz singer of all time. Eleanora's journey to become a legend took her through pain, poverty, and run-ins with the law. By the time she was fifteen, she knew she possessed something that could possibly change her life--a voice. Eleanora could sing. Her remarkable voice led her to a place in the spotlight with some of the era's hottest big bands. Through a sequence of raw and poignant poems, New York Times best-selling and award-winning poet Carole Boston Weatherford chronicles the singer's young life, her fight for survival, and the dream she pursued with passion.

Reviews

"The poetry is rich and evocative. . . . A remarkable tribute well worthy of its subject." Kirkus Reviews, starred review

"Readers will find a generous assortment of recommended reading and listening at the end of this proud, clear-voiced testimonial." Booklist

"[Weatherford] captures the woman's jazzy, candid voice so adroitly that at times the poems seem like they could have been lifted wholesale from Holiday's autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues. . . . This captivating title places readers solidly into Holiday's world, and is suitable for independent reading as well as a variety of classroom uses." School Library Journal, starred review

Author Bio

New York Timesbest-selling authorCarole Boston Weatherford's60-plus books include the Caldecott Honor bookUnspeakable- The Tulsa Race Massacre, for which she was awarded the Coretta Scott King Author Award and a Sibert Honor; the Newbery Honor winnerBox; and the Caldecott Honor winnersFreedom in Congo Square, Fannie Lou Hamer,andMoses. She won a Coretta Scott King Author Honor forBecoming Billie Holiday. Weatherford teaches at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina. Visit cbweatherford.com. Floyd Cooper (1956-2021) illustrated over 110 books for children, including Unspeakable- The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole BostonWeatherford, for which he was awarded aCaldecottHonor, theCorettaScott King Illustrator Award, and aSibertHonor.He was also the recipient of theCorettaScott King Award for The Blacker the Berry; threeCorettaScott King Honors for I Have Heard of a Land, MeetDanitraBrown, and Brown Honey inBroomwheatTea; 10 ALA Notables; and an NAACP Image Award, among other honors. Visitfloydcooper.com.