A picture book about jazz artists Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie is as spirited in tone as it is unusual in format. The duo credited with creating bebop are engaged in a friendly collaboration/competition here as they perform the song “Salt Peanuts.” It plays out like a game of tag, which is used as a metaphor in the narrative, or a contest of friendly one-upmanship: “Bird’s fingers fly across the brass. / Is that smoke coming out of his horn? / He wrinkles his nose, and his bow tie jitters. / Top that, Dizzy Boy.” Verbally energetic and visually dynamic, the free-flowing, colorful, textured art spans the accordion-fold pages, extending into single, long image on each side. The format will bring surprise and pleasure, much like bebop itself. It also makes it a book best shared through collaboration and participation, again, perfectly in tune with the music. More information about Parker and Gillespie’s collaboration on bebop is provided in an afterword that invites readers to listen to a performance of Bird and Diz and “pick up your crayons and draw!” (Age 8 and older)

An award-winning author and a Caldecott Medalist improvise a playful tribute to the creators of bebop—Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie.

When sax player Charlie “Bird” Parker and trumpeter John “Dizzy” Gillespie make music together, they toss notes back and forth like a game of tag and chase each other with sounds. As Dizzy’s cheeks puff out like a frog with glasses, the two friends beep and bop and push each other to create a new kind of music—a thrilling fast jazz full of surprises. Blending a playful, rhythmic narration with expressive illustrations as fluid and dynamic as their subjects, this tribute to the masters of bebop by acclaimed biographer Gary Golio and beloved artist Ed Young will have readers hankering to listen for themselves.