4 TRUE TALES ABOUT FEMALE SINGERS

Four Picture Book Biographies with  ...

A Cherry On Top   

A bout Female Singers

C haracters:   

Joni Mitchell (THE LYRICAL LIFE OF JONI MITCHELL)

Aretha Franklin (R-E-S-P-E-C-T- Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul)

Aretha Franklin (A VOICE NAMED ARETHA)

Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD)

O verviews:

 

THE LYRICAL LIFE OF JONI MITCHELL "When Joni Mitchell wrote songs, her lyrics told stories. When she sang, her music spoke the truth.

But before composing more than two hundred songs, Joni was a young girl from a town on the Canadian prairie, where she learned to love dancing, painting, birdsong, and piano. As she grew up into an artist, Joni took her strong feelings—feelings of love and frustration, the pain of having polio, and the turbulence that came with being a young woman—and wrote them into vivid songs."

 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T- Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul  "Aretha Franklin was born to sing. The daughter of a pastor and a gospel singer, her musical talent was clear from her earliest days in her father’s Detroit church where her soaring voice spanned more than three octaves.

Her string of hit songs earned her the title “the Queen of Soul,” multiple Grammy Awards, and a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Aretha didn’t just raise her voice in song, she also spoke out against injustice and fought for civil rights.

A VOICE NAMED ARETHA "Aretha Franklin is the Queen of Soul, a legend. But before she became a star, she was a shy little girl with a voice so powerful it made people jump up, sway, and hum along. 

 

Raised in a house full of talking and singing, Aretha learned the values that would carry her through life--from her church choir in Detroit to stages across the world. When she moved to New York City to start her career, it took years of hard work before she had a hit song. In the turbulent 1960s, she sang about "Respect" and refused to perform before segregated audiences. The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha always remembered who she was and where she came from."

 

MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD "Ella Fitzgerald’s velvety tones and shube-doobie-doos captivated audiences. Jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington couldn’t wait to share the stage with her, but still, Ella could not book a performance at one of the biggest clubs in town–one she knew would give her career its biggest break yet.

      Marilyn Monroe dazzled on the silver screen with her baby blue eyes and breathy boo-boo-be-doos. But when she asked for better scripts, a choice in who she worked with, and a higher salary, studio bosses refused.

      Two women whose voices weren’t being heard. Two women chasing after their dreams and each helping the other to achieve them. This is the inspiring, true story of two incredibly talented women who came together to help each other shine like the stars that they are."

T antalizing taste:   

If you'd like to learn more about these 4 picture book biographies about female singers, please visit my complete reviews on this blog to see a "Tantalizing Taste" of text from each book. And also read the"Something More" in each review about what intrigues me regarding each book:

Joni Mitchell (THE LYRICAL LIFE OF JONI MITCHELL) written and illus. by Selina Alko

Aretha Franklin (R-E-S-P-E-C-T- Aretha Franklin The Queen of Soul) by Carole Boston Weatherford illus. by Frank Morrison

Aretha Franklin (A VOICE NAMED ARETHA) by Katheryn Russell-Brown and illus. by Laura Freeman

Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (MAKING THEIR VOICES HEARD) by Vivian Kirkfield and illus. by Alleanna Harris