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Jazz Baby
With a simple clap of hands, an itty-bitty beboppin' baby gets his whole family singing and dancing. Sister's hands snap. Granny sings scat. Uncle soft-shoes--and Baby keeps the groove. Things start to wind down when Mama and Daddy sing blues so sweet. Now a perfectly drowsy baby sleeps deep, deep, deep. Lisa Wheeler and R. Gregory Christie pair up for a celebration of music, imagination, and big families--but they know that even a jazz baby needs to snooze. Oh yeah.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews
January 11, 2023
A lively, dancing and liltingly poetic bedtime story for young children, and especially suitable and recommended for music, or more specifically, jazz music enthusiasts, I sweetly and appreciatively adore (for both my adult self and even more so for my inner child) both Lisa Wheeler's swinging text and also R. Gregory Christie's equally lively and descriptive accompanying illustrations for Jazz Baby (their delightfully fun, rhythmically engaging combination of printed words and displayed images, which present a wonderful sense of energy, rhythm and cadence, and will more than likely have both children and adults alike desiring to dance, to sing, to "jazz-it-up"so to speak).
Now readers/listeners (both children and also caregivers) desiring a specific and actual storyline in Jazz Baby might well be just a trifle disappointed, as there really is not all that much detailed textual information being presented by Lisa Wheeler (and thus of course also not much of a plot). However, Jazz Baby truly does not (in my humble) require the latter, simply and gracefully presenting a happy, close and musically inclined family, joyously dancing, singing their precious baby to sleep. And indeed, the only minor drawback for this delightful little gem, for Jazz Baby might be that very active and energetic children could perchance not in fact end up being calmed, and ready visit the proverbial land of Nod, but rather stimulated by Jazz Baby, wanting to dance and sing, instead of going to bed.
Now readers/listeners (both children and also caregivers) desiring a specific and actual storyline in Jazz Baby might well be just a trifle disappointed, as there really is not all that much detailed textual information being presented by Lisa Wheeler (and thus of course also not much of a plot). However, Jazz Baby truly does not (in my humble) require the latter, simply and gracefully presenting a happy, close and musically inclined family, joyously dancing, singing their precious baby to sleep. And indeed, the only minor drawback for this delightful little gem, for Jazz Baby might be that very active and energetic children could perchance not in fact end up being calmed, and ready visit the proverbial land of Nod, but rather stimulated by Jazz Baby, wanting to dance and sing, instead of going to bed.
June 16, 2011
I really enjoyed the text here; it's a rhythmic ode to jazz and I thought it was just adorable how the whole family is involved in making the sweet, sassy music--right down to that cute jazz baby! Unfortunately, the illustrations really were not my cup of tea and so this lessened my enjoyment of the book as a whole but I definitely recommend it to those interested in books about music (jazz especially) and imagine that some people will love the illustrations, too.
February 12, 2009
Wheeler, Lisa. 2007. Jazz Baby. Illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.
I read and fell in love with this one completely. I didn't only read it five or six times in a row. I read it aloud that many times. Sure, it's fun to read aloud to someone. But I was by myself. But I just couldn't get over how wonderful the words sounded. That doesn't always happen with picture books--even good picture books. Rhythm and sound can be tricky. And in my opinion, Jazz Baby is perfection. Jazz Baby is all about a family spending time together making sweet, sweet music. Brother's hands tap. Sister's hands snap. Itty-bitty Baby's hands clap-clap-clap! But this isn't just immediate family--no, there's plenty of room for everyone. Grandpa. Granny. Mama. Daddy. Auntie. Uncle. Cousins. They're all there. They're all having fun. They're just having the time of their lives. This is one of my favorite parts, I'm sharing it because I think it's a good example of how the text just works:
Mama swings high.
Daddy swings low.
Swingin'-singin' Baby says,
"Go, Man, Go!"
So they Boom-Boom-Boom
And they Hip-Hip-Hop
And the bouncin' baby boogies
with a Bop-Bop-Bop!
Really who could resist the line "bouncin' baby boogies with a bop-bop-bop"??? The whole book just is so perfect, so right. If you love Al Perkins' Hand Hand Fingers Thumb you're going to love this one too!!!
February 21, 2008
Jazz Baby is awake in his crib when the rhythms and music start and he claps along with the beat. Then everyone joins in making their own signature sounds and dancing in different styles. This musical picture book has plenty of opportunities for children to hum, sing and move along with the story. The text is pure rhythm and rhyme where you can feel your feet tapping and your body swaying along. It is a joy to read aloud and will be a joy to listen to as well.
The illustrations by Christie are also winning, as we see family members will all different skin tones, styles and movements. It is a look at diversity within a loving family unit filled with several generations of love. The illustrations just like the words seem to capture jazz itself, its flow and its improvisational aspects.
Highly recommended for reading aloud, make sure everyone is invited to move, wiggle and clap along. They will anyway!
The illustrations by Christie are also winning, as we see family members will all different skin tones, styles and movements. It is a look at diversity within a loving family unit filled with several generations of love. The illustrations just like the words seem to capture jazz itself, its flow and its improvisational aspects.
Highly recommended for reading aloud, make sure everyone is invited to move, wiggle and clap along. They will anyway!
May 18, 2015
I think this is a great book for early childhood students ages 2-5. This book is about a family that perhaps loves jazz and the whole family sings and dances throughout a portion of the song and the baby always ends with " go man go"They are all singing to put the baby to sleep. The book includes mom, dad, grandma, brother, grandpa, auntie, and cousins. The authors Lisa wheeler and R. Gregory Christie, did a great job sending a positive message in this book on family working together . It also gives great phonemic awareness with all the rhyming words especially in early childhood those phenomena are essential. Also the colors and pictures in the book were awesome.
June 11, 2014
Filled with fun onomatopoeia and a rhythmic, rhyming, flowing narrative, this is a fun book to read aloud with children of all ages. The narrative is short and entertaining and the characters are humorous. We liked seeing all of the family members singing and dancing and playing with the baby. Overall, it's an entertaining book and we enjoyed reading it together.
July 26, 2008
Short and snappy, perfectly rhymed. And your kids will sing jazzy-scat for weeks after hearing it! Fun, fun book.
September 24, 2018
This book is filled with rhythmic text that depicts the essence of Jazz. One almost needs to sing the words to experience the lively narrative of this large family singing and dancing with Jazz Baby to assist in his sleep time routine. This, Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Nominee (2008), Charlotte Zolotow Award Nominee for Highly Commended Title (2008), book is perfect for an early childhood education classroom read aloud to engage students with literacy, music, and expression. Students could interact with this read aloud by repeating the narrative, dancing along with the characters, or producing their own version of a Jazz song. The text is very simple and would make a great guided reading lesson for young emergent readers. It is also a perfect example of how to use onomatopoeia as text to express ideas.
Young children will love this book. It depicts an extended family coming together with one goal...get Jazz Baby asleep! The illustrations are vibrant and the text reflects the "swing" and "scat" of Jazz. I can see students reading aloud this book to their friends, modeling your version of the narrative, in the reading corner. I recommend this fun book.
Young children will love this book. It depicts an extended family coming together with one goal...get Jazz Baby asleep! The illustrations are vibrant and the text reflects the "swing" and "scat" of Jazz. I can see students reading aloud this book to their friends, modeling your version of the narrative, in the reading corner. I recommend this fun book.
March 4, 2019
Jazz Baby is a fun, lyrical book that reads to the rhythm of a jazz song that gets everybody moving. With Lisa Wheeler's fun poetry and R. Gregory Christie's fluid illustrations, this makes for a fantastic book to introduce your little one to musical genres that are no longer considered popular or mainstream. It's fun, swingin', and overall a good time. Great for kids PreK-1.
Review cross-listed here!
Review cross-listed here!
April 9, 2019
Lisa Wheeler is quickly becoming a favorite children's author. I read this on Saturday to two girls and they really loved it. I am a huge jazz fan too and was looking forward to "Jazz Baby". It didn't disappoint. In the book, the whole family likes jazz; by the end you will too if you don't already.
August 24, 2019
Fantastic rhythm and meter and beautiful illustrations. Greatly enjoyed reading aloud to my infant.
December 19, 2016
Read at Baby/Toddler Story Time on 4/19/11.
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June 17, 2022Terrific to read aloud, sure. Lively art that many will love, sure. But I dunno; I guess I'm just not the target audience? Maybe on another day it'd hit me better?
April 2, 2022
Jazz baby by Lisa Wheeler is a poetry book about a little baby whose whole family sings and dances with him. Throughout the book, different family members are doing different things. Sister snaps her hands, granny is singing scat while uncle is tapping his soft shoes. Towards the end of the book, the tempo starts to wind down as baby gets tired and mama sings sweets while daddy sings blues. The book addresses the celebration of music since this book is focused around music, singing and dancing. Throughout the book, different kinds of jazz are addressed like blues and scats. Furthermore, the book also addresses big families and their individual cultures. This book will spark students imagination as they read through the poetry and rhymes of different types of music.
I think this book is appropriate to read aloud to a lower elementary class or even be great for intermediate readers. I think an appropriate grade for this book would be kindergarten-2nd grade. Something that resonated with me about this book is that it was a fun lighthearted way to introduce culture and family traditions into a classroom. I also thought it was a good way to connect to the elective of music class as well. This book would be a great way to teach students about rhyming words, word families and the same rimes of words. An activity that can be associated with this, is having students work with the onset and rimes of words. Furthermore, for more advanced readers, they can even do an activity of writing their own poem with rhyming words. This will give students the opportunity to work with the sound that consonants make. Another lesson that can be taught with this book is about families and culture. Throughout the book, baby’s family sings and dances along with him as they express themselves through music. Students can do an activity where they write about something special that their family does that is a part of their culture. For example, students can write about certain holidays that their families celebrate. Even though this is a simplistic book, I think there are still great lessons that can be associated with it.
I think this book is appropriate to read aloud to a lower elementary class or even be great for intermediate readers. I think an appropriate grade for this book would be kindergarten-2nd grade. Something that resonated with me about this book is that it was a fun lighthearted way to introduce culture and family traditions into a classroom. I also thought it was a good way to connect to the elective of music class as well. This book would be a great way to teach students about rhyming words, word families and the same rimes of words. An activity that can be associated with this, is having students work with the onset and rimes of words. Furthermore, for more advanced readers, they can even do an activity of writing their own poem with rhyming words. This will give students the opportunity to work with the sound that consonants make. Another lesson that can be taught with this book is about families and culture. Throughout the book, baby’s family sings and dances along with him as they express themselves through music. Students can do an activity where they write about something special that their family does that is a part of their culture. For example, students can write about certain holidays that their families celebrate. Even though this is a simplistic book, I think there are still great lessons that can be associated with it.
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April 23, 2026This is a story about a diverse family and their new baby! The family explores music and different kinds of sound. Just like a jazz band has many different instruments, the family has many different people who all make different unique sounds. Together, they form a great band of people who love music and love each other. The book introduces the family one by one and showcases how unique they each are. It concludes with a loving picture of the mom and the dad alone putting the baby back to bed with a song.
I was a bit skeptical of this book at first, but I grew to really like it! I thought it was unique in that the plot was less about a journey and more about people. The family is diverse not only in appearance but in personality too. I loved the natural incorporation of music in this book.
I think this could be a great book when teaching about onomatopes! I think this book could be a great introduction to the lesson. I would have a class discussion afterwards to brain storm what other sound words we as a class could come up with. I also think having the class make the noise sounds as we talked about them could be a fun way to engage the class in a unique way that normally isn't fit for a classroom discussion.
I was a bit skeptical of this book at first, but I grew to really like it! I thought it was unique in that the plot was less about a journey and more about people. The family is diverse not only in appearance but in personality too. I loved the natural incorporation of music in this book.
I think this could be a great book when teaching about onomatopes! I think this book could be a great introduction to the lesson. I would have a class discussion afterwards to brain storm what other sound words we as a class could come up with. I also think having the class make the noise sounds as we talked about them could be a fun way to engage the class in a unique way that normally isn't fit for a classroom discussion.
May 1, 2025
Summary:
This book is a musical story of a baby and their family enjoying a night full of jazz music, rhythm, and dance. The format of this book contains a musical beat that includes rhymes, which makes this ideal for younger kids.
Commentary:
I had fun reading this book, the book had me reading it out loud and my toddler singing to it! Which was the best part for me, as a parent it brings me joy to see my kids involved. It definitely created a bonding experience for my toddler and me. The themes for this book are family, rhythm, and shared experiences through movement (Amazon, 2025)
Application:
As suggested in Amazon (2025) the ages are 1- 3-year-olds, which I agree. This will be a great book to add for pre-k to 1st grade! The book would be great for both a teacher and student read-aloud opportunity. As a class we can even clap to the rhythm of the beat or have the students create their own jazz- inspired sounds with simple instruments. This will be a great tool for students to practice rhyming and sound recognition.
This book is a musical story of a baby and their family enjoying a night full of jazz music, rhythm, and dance. The format of this book contains a musical beat that includes rhymes, which makes this ideal for younger kids.
Commentary:
I had fun reading this book, the book had me reading it out loud and my toddler singing to it! Which was the best part for me, as a parent it brings me joy to see my kids involved. It definitely created a bonding experience for my toddler and me. The themes for this book are family, rhythm, and shared experiences through movement (Amazon, 2025)
Application:
As suggested in Amazon (2025) the ages are 1- 3-year-olds, which I agree. This will be a great book to add for pre-k to 1st grade! The book would be great for both a teacher and student read-aloud opportunity. As a class we can even clap to the rhythm of the beat or have the students create their own jazz- inspired sounds with simple instruments. This will be a great tool for students to practice rhyming and sound recognition.
October 29, 2018
1. Awards the book has received: Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor
2. Appropriate grade levels: Pre-K to 2nd Grade
3. Original Summary: Jazz baby knows how to keep a rhythm. Mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, and grandpa have got the tune too. Follow the family through a jazzy day.
4. Original Review: "Jazz Baby" by Lisa Wheeler was such a pleasure to read. The rhymes and rhythm are very consistent throughout the book making it easy to follow along the pattern. The illustrations by R. Gregory Christie are very engaging and full of energy.
5. This book could be used in class to help students with rhymes and rhythm. The book follows a beat and a pattern that can help students learn what rhyming words sound like and when to expect them.
This book can also be used as an introduction to learning about jazz music.
2. Appropriate grade levels: Pre-K to 2nd Grade
3. Original Summary: Jazz baby knows how to keep a rhythm. Mom, dad, sister, brother, grandma, and grandpa have got the tune too. Follow the family through a jazzy day.
4. Original Review: "Jazz Baby" by Lisa Wheeler was such a pleasure to read. The rhymes and rhythm are very consistent throughout the book making it easy to follow along the pattern. The illustrations by R. Gregory Christie are very engaging and full of energy.
5. This book could be used in class to help students with rhymes and rhythm. The book follows a beat and a pattern that can help students learn what rhyming words sound like and when to expect them.
This book can also be used as an introduction to learning about jazz music.
November 15, 2019
This book is a fun story about a baby who loves jazz music. His family sings and sings to him until he falls fast asleep. The words are sing-song, repetitive, and groovy. I really like that the words encompass sounds that come from jazz music such as the “toot toot” and “boom boom” and “tap tap”. This would be a great book to use in the classroom to teach students about jazz music. I would read this book to the class and have them infer some components of jazz music from reading the book. Then I would play them some jazz songs. After, we would talk about similarities we found between the book and the songs. In addition, the illustrations encompass a groovy feel and I like that it also includes a diverse group of people. I read this book to a child I babysit, and we had fun coming up with different beats and rhythms each time we read the book.
October 6, 2020
This book is a great book to introduce young kids to onomatopoeia and alliteration. Although it is not a formal song, you feel like you are singing and moving along with the characters as you read. The story comes together in a way that you would think the author and illustrator were sitting side by side as the story was created. The illustrator creates images that move the story along, focusing on the baby being passed around. The overall theme of this book would be family/community and music. Everyone in the family joins in to move along with the music from grandma all the way to baby. I think this book would be good in an interactive read-aloud where the students could repeat the repetitious onomatopoeias. It would also work well with an art response. For all the different sounds, students could make up a dance move to go along with the sounds.
January 18, 2018
This book would be great for babies or toddlers! I used it with toddlers yesterday, and plan to use it with my baby storytime in the future. Very musical book, with lots of different sounds like "toot-toots" and "rat-tat-tats." Babies especially love no nonsense words because that's how they communicate! When babies are saying nonsensical words, it's fun to talk back to them. It helps teach them conversational skills! With the toddlers, they enjoyed tapping their toes and stomping their feet as the story progressed. We made music together while reading!
September 14, 2017
This 2008 Geisel honor book was a reminder how music fills and uplifts the soul. While reading this book, I felt its energy of melodious jazz and can just imagine the history past down from generation-to-generation via music, song and dance. The story revolves around the baby and his/her connection to jazz along with his/her family; this connection also spills over to the neighborhood. I truly appreciated this book, it placed a happiness in my heart and a smile on my face.
October 21, 2018
I like this book because it is about playing music, and I love playing music. I think this is a cute book to teach children some of the basics of music. I also like this book because it’s a rhyming book, and I like rhyming books. For some reason, this book reminded me of Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? . These books remind me of each other because they are repetitive. I think this is also a cute book to read to children as a bedtime story because it ends with the child going to sleep.
November 1, 2018
This was a wonderful story! Simple read and would make for a great read-aloud and definitely a great bedtime story! It's almost like a song. The words flow on the page and you almost can help but sing it. The illustrations are colorful and bright which match the story line of putting the baby to sleep. I had fun reading this book alone, I'm sure little ones would enjoy it too! I would definitely recommend this book to a teacher or parents with little ones.
December 3, 2018
An entire family scats, sings, taps their youngest member into a sleepy frame of mind. The illustrations are really beautiful and Nina particulairly loves the rhythm and rhyme of this story along with the many family members present who she names after our own. The very last page is the baby going to sleep deep, deep, deep—Oh yeah—her favourite line to mimick as drawn out as possible. Lisa Wheeler and Gregory Christie are a winning team, would love to see more from the combo.
October 6, 2020
Author Lisa Wheeler and illustrator R. Gregory Christie work very well together to create a dynamic picture book on the beauty of jazz as well as the importance of family. This book is a great way to introduce the genre of jazz music to budding readers. The illustrations get creative with musical notes and fun, sing-song-y language. I really enjoyed tapping along with each new page and each new dance move. This story really gets readers moving!
December 29, 2020
My babies have both been obsessed with this book!! We checked it out from the library first and then just had to buy it because my daughter wouldn't stop reading it (about 18 months). My children (1 and 3) are big readers and Jazz Baby has been the hands down favorite at about 18-20 months.
I recommend it most for the 15 month-2 year age range. Although appreciated by a wider age range, this was the age of book obsession for my two. It has identifiable concepts and characters, repeatable words and phrases, and you should definitely buy this for the babies in your life!!
I recommend it most for the 15 month-2 year age range. Although appreciated by a wider age range, this was the age of book obsession for my two. It has identifiable concepts and characters, repeatable words and phrases, and you should definitely buy this for the babies in your life!!
October 3, 2022
I am a fan of jazz and a fan of picturebooks, so I was hoping to be a fan of this book. Lisa Wheeler’s rhymes are somewhat catchy, but they never really get off the ground or go anywhere. Artist R. Gregory Christie’s illustrations are also a disappointment. He has done some excellent album work elsewhere but these drawings look rushed. They depict movement, but do not convey any real feel for the music.
April 22, 2026
Read as part of my quest to read all the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor books to my toddler.
Personally I didn't like the illustration style for this book. I found it to be a little caricature-like and the color palette was just not my preference. Not a big fan of yellows and oranges.
My toddler really enjoyed the rhyming and rhythmic nature of this book. He asked me to read it again and again. So it's a five star from him.
Personally I didn't like the illustration style for this book. I found it to be a little caricature-like and the color palette was just not my preference. Not a big fan of yellows and oranges.
My toddler really enjoyed the rhyming and rhythmic nature of this book. He asked me to read it again and again. So it's a five star from him.
November 20, 2017
Genre: Poetry
Grade Level: K-2
This was such a fun book. It would be a blast to read aloud to children in a classroom or home setting. The poetry is so great and makes for a fun and engaging read. The illustrations and wording go along well with the theme of the book and it is overall an awesome story.
Grade Level: K-2
This was such a fun book. It would be a blast to read aloud to children in a classroom or home setting. The poetry is so great and makes for a fun and engaging read. The illustrations and wording go along well with the theme of the book and it is overall an awesome story.
December 4, 2018
This book is a lot of fun. I read this book as part of a dance-themed story time for two-year olds and caregivers. I really enjoyed reading it and the kids and parents seemed to enjoy it too. I gave each person a shaker and they shook along with me in rhythm when we got to the part of each page about the baby.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 219 reviews