Satchmo's Blues

Satchmo's Blue written by Alan Scroeder and illustrated by Floyd Cooper is based about the famous musician Louis Armstrong. When Louis was just a small child he saw a little cornet in a pawn shop and vowed to save fifty cents a week until he had five dollars to purchase it! Louis loved music so much that he pretended to have the horn when he didn't. 

Satchmo's Blues is a non fiction picturebook that includes factual information about Louis Armstrong's childhood while in New Orleans. It gives an accurate account of how much Louis loved the art of music and how his interest in music as a child manifested in his adult life. Satchmos's Blues is Dell Dragonfly Book which are made to inspire children to discover talented artists and writers! 

 How can we connect this book to learning?

One motivational activity I would include is a learning the importance of sharing lesson. In the book, Louis struggled with giving his mom a portion of the money he had been saving to help with his sister's birthday dinner. This lesson would be for smaller children that may not understand the value in sharing! Another activity would be a compare and contrast activity. I would encourage students to find another artist that Louis could compare with and note their similarities and differences. 

Questions I would include are:

1. How important was music to Louis Armstrong?

2. How long did it take Louis to earn the money to buy his born? 

3. Are there any other artists from New Orleans that you know of? Where is New Orleans on the map? 

The painterly style of art the illustrator Floyd Cooper used gave readers a taste of that New Orleans flavor, as some may know! The pictures were full of life and happiness with the variety of instruments and dancing illustrated! The illustrations were definitely in line with the story and readers could easily relate to the events in this book 

This is a great book for ages 4-8 years.