Shawn Smith

SLIS 5960.001

Maymester 2002

MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE ACTIVITY

Elementary activity

Suitable for grades 4-6

Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra

By Andrea Davis Pinkney and J. Brian Pinkney (illustrator)

About the book:

This simple biography for early readers addresses the life of jazz great Duke Ellington. Although not heavy on biographical facts, the rhythmic, flowing style of the text as well as the flowing illustrations gives the reader a sense of the smoothness and rhythm of Ellington’s music.

About the author:

Andrea Davis Pinkney was born on September 25, 1963 in Washington, D.C., the daughter of parents deeply involved in the civil rights movement. As a result, Pinkney was exposed to the movement at a young age and was even involved in the annual conference of the National Urban League during many of her summer vacations. The Civil Rights Movement played a large role in her childhood and its influence is visible in many of her books.

Pinkney did not originally aspire to be a children's book author and editor. As a child, she dreamed of writing for magazines. According to Pinkney, The Mary Tyler Moore Show was influential to her desire to become a writer. The main character of the show, Mary Richards, a big-city journalist, was an early role model to Pinkney. To achieve her dream, Pinkney majored in journalism at Syracuse University. After graduating in 1985, she began working as an editor at Mechanics Illustrated. She eventually became a senior editor for Essence magazine.

Pinkney's switched to writing children's literature came as a result of encouragement from her husband, Brian Pinkney, a children's book illustrator whom she married in 1991. Noting that she often offered comments about manuscripts he reviewed, he encouraged her to write a children's book of her own. Several children's book collaborations between the two resulted, including Dear Benjamin Banneker, Seven Candles for Kwanzaa, and Duke Ellington.

Pinkney now lives in Brooklyn, New York. (http://voices.cla.umn.edu/authors/andreadavispinkney.html, 21 May 2002)

About the illustrator:

When he was young, Brian Pinkney needed only to look at his parents' careers to see what he himself would grow up to become. His mother is Gloria Jean Pinkney, a children's book writer, and his father is Jerry Pinkney, a children's book illustrator. Brian Pinkney often came home from school and watched his father at work in his art studio. Then he drew and painted in his own "studio" — a closet fixed up with art supplies that his father no longer used.

When he was older, Pinkney earned both a bachelor's and a master's degree in art. His work was shown in art galleries, and his illustrations appeared in several magazines. But he's best known for his children's book illustrations. Pinkney followed in his parents' footsteps in yet another way, by marrying a writer. His wife, Andrea Davis Pinkney, has written many children's books, and Pinkney has illustrated some of them. He has also written and illustrated his own books. (http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmr/mtai/bpinkney.html; 21 May 2002)

Before reading activity:

- Listen to some of Duke Ellington’s music. Is it fast or slow? Does it make you want to dance or move?

- What kind of dance might be done to his music? (swing)

- What instruments do you hear in the music?

- When do you think this music was written?

After reading activity:

- Show students music/slide show of Duke Ellington found at http://www.nytimes.com/library/arts/ellington-index.html . When did Duke Ellington’s music start becoming famous? (1920s).

- What do you notice about the photographs? Allow students to share their observations. (Musicians are all black; hairstyles, clothing styles, etc.)

- Divide students into groups. Using a contest format, have each group research and name 3 songs by Duke Ellington. As each group comes up with a song title, they must write it on the board. Once a song title is used, it cannot be used again by another group. Allow students to use books or internet as research tools. First group to post three

- Ellington song titles wins. Give students in the winning group a small prize (bookmark, pencil, etc.)

- What kind of music did Duke Ellington write? (jazz)

- What do you like about Duke Ellington’s music?

- Why do you think the author wrote this book in rhyme?

- Why do you think that Duke Ellington is famous?