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Jazz Fly
The Jazz Fly
This Indie Next #1 Recommended book, and Benjamin Franklin Book Award winner, celebrates language and the inventive spirit of “ZA-baza, BOO-zaba, ZEE-za RO-ni!” The book includes 3 listening a QR code, audio CD, and FREE AUDIO DOWNLOAD featuring Gollub's MUST HEAR narration set to a jazz quartet. To listen as you read along (highly recommended), use the QR code, FREE audio download or traditional CD. All 3 listening options come with the book!
The fly, who speaks jazz, asks which way to town. "Rrribit," replies the frog. "Oink," says the hog. Although baffled, the fly hears music in their words, and that evening he uses the animal sounds to set the insect dinner club a hoppin.' The computer enhanced artwork of Karen Hanke perfectly complements the text and audio. Get ready to tap, snap, and swing to the beat as Nancy the Gnat, Willie the Worm, and Sammy the Centipede take the stage.
Here's a combination of storytelling, visual art, and music for children to savor time and again. The story has been performed by professionals and by children on three continents! Other honors Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book Award Winner * Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children * San Francisco Chronicle Editors' Picks.
The fly, who speaks jazz, asks which way to town. "Rrribit," replies the frog. "Oink," says the hog. Although baffled, the fly hears music in their words, and that evening he uses the animal sounds to set the insect dinner club a hoppin.' The computer enhanced artwork of Karen Hanke perfectly complements the text and audio. Get ready to tap, snap, and swing to the beat as Nancy the Gnat, Willie the Worm, and Sammy the Centipede take the stage.
Here's a combination of storytelling, visual art, and music for children to savor time and again. The story has been performed by professionals and by children on three continents! Other honors Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book Award Winner * Smithsonian's Notable Books for Children * San Francisco Chronicle Editors' Picks.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
5 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
April 16, 2011
This is one of the best children's books I have ever read and I like to think I have a pretty good track record. My boys love this book and the audio version which was included. The paperback and the cd together are amazing. The entire work is original and fun, fun to listen to or fun to read. And the book is an ideal method of introducing jazz music and concepts to little ones. If you want to buy a book for beginning readers, a book they will love and probably have not heard of, then look no further.
September 12, 2017
really enjoyed listening to the CD
March 23, 2017
so much fun! kind of difficult to read out loud but careful reading and extra practice should make it shine!
May 31, 2020
A jazz musician fly speaks only the language of "jazz." When he gets lost on his way to play a set at a jazz club, he has to communicate with other animals to get directions. In "The Jazz Fly" Matthew Gollub deftly explains the basic components of a jazz band and introduces the concept of scat. The accompanying CD is a masterpiece.
August 9, 2016
I love this book. I got it for my son at the library and we listen to it in the car all the time. I own the Pachanga book which is even better. He loves the sounds, notes and musicality and is only 18 months old. I also enjoy jazz so this was a fun, energetic book for me. I'm beginning to love kids books!
January 22, 2008
This is an excellent kids book and fun to read. It has a great beat and builds music appreciation by combining all the sounds of the jazz instruments with the sounds of nature. The artwork is really fun as well. It'll work for kids from 1-8 (and any adults).
January 2, 2014
This is one of our family favorites. The pages are torn, taped, and worn ... proving just how much we love it! So much fun to read aloud, or listen to the CD and read along. Also, a great way to introduce children to jazz music.
September 28, 2010
Great audiobook. Really gives kids a "feel" for jazz as a music genre in addition to being a good read aloud!
May 22, 2017
I am a music teacher and this is one of my least favorite children's books. I have only used it in my classroom once and will never use it again. I honestly don't understand why this book has so many awards, maybe just the mere mention of jazz wins you an award these days.
First of all, the book is impossible to read aloud and you must use the CD track. The CD track is performed in such a way that it sounds like someone on drugs is reading it. As an actual musician, there is nothing jazzy or musical about the author's reading - it simply sounds bad.
This book has many pages on animal sounds, which appropriate for very little kids, but then, the book also has several pages on improvisation, jazz clubs and other concepts little kids know nothing about. If I read it to fourth graders, they will not like the babyish animal sounds. If I read it to little kids, they will be lost in the second half of the book. I am left wondering for what age of child is this book written?
This book incorrectly uses basic vocabulary. For example, it says, "I want a new beat." I understand that in rap people use the term beat for a hook or even rhythm, but when you are teaching small kids music, you want them to know the correct and exact terminology to describe what they are hearing. One of the first things we teach kids in kindergarten is the difference between beat and rhythm, so why would I want to confuse them by reading them this book? It also has grammatical errors, such as "This band plays good" instead of "This band plays well."
If you want to read this book at home, fine, go for it, but for educational purposes this book is completely useless.
First of all, the book is impossible to read aloud and you must use the CD track. The CD track is performed in such a way that it sounds like someone on drugs is reading it. As an actual musician, there is nothing jazzy or musical about the author's reading - it simply sounds bad.
This book has many pages on animal sounds, which appropriate for very little kids, but then, the book also has several pages on improvisation, jazz clubs and other concepts little kids know nothing about. If I read it to fourth graders, they will not like the babyish animal sounds. If I read it to little kids, they will be lost in the second half of the book. I am left wondering for what age of child is this book written?
This book incorrectly uses basic vocabulary. For example, it says, "I want a new beat." I understand that in rap people use the term beat for a hook or even rhythm, but when you are teaching small kids music, you want them to know the correct and exact terminology to describe what they are hearing. One of the first things we teach kids in kindergarten is the difference between beat and rhythm, so why would I want to confuse them by reading them this book? It also has grammatical errors, such as "This band plays good" instead of "This band plays well."
If you want to read this book at home, fine, go for it, but for educational purposes this book is completely useless.
March 9, 2019
It's not perfect, but it's a lot of fun. A great one to read with a group, plenty of opportunity for interactive help with the sound effects. Can see pulling out the musical instruments (well, shakers) with it, too. That being said... this is NOT a book to cold read. The rhythm and jazz/scat-sounding lyrics are rather tongue-twister-ish when you read them for the first time. While it's a fun one for a storytime on music (or bugs or farm animals!), definitely practice reading aloud first.
March 13, 2020
Another musically oriented read this time featuring the smooth jazz of New Orleans and a few small critters. This story follows a fly and his band on their way to a concert. Each member has their own unique sound (the frog says 'Rrribit' etc.) thus teaching the importance of improvisation in a fun way. I gave this three out of five stars and would highly recommend the audiobook, narrated by the author, for the full affect.
September 12, 2018
Awesome book with CD! It's a great introduction to jazz music that kept my kids fully engaged. I tried reading it like he does on the CD, but couldn't even come close! The way he reads/sings the book is amazing and definitely teaches the kids about jazz music!
July 7, 2017
(2nd/3rd) Written in such a way that can be read kind of as a rap- super fun for kids and a great way to introduce scatting!
January 3, 2018
Cute book with a ton of sounds, music, and audio CD included. Fun, silly & a good intro to jazz for kids.
March 27, 2018
I read to get in the mood for April Jazz music. Great book with the added plus of a CD that really adds to the reading.
May 22, 2018
I have no idea yet how I'm going to use this book - but it's just so catchy and fun! I read through it with the CD of the author narrating and lots of instruments backing him up. Highly recommended!
March 23, 2019
Be sure to download the audio and listen while you read the pages and look at the art.
April 13, 2019
This is a cute story just for the story, filled with wonderful sounds that children really like to hear. It's also a great way to introduce children to jazz music and scatting.
March 22, 2020
I like when they are all happy and packed up in a limo.
January 16, 2023
The Jazz Fly is the cutest story and a fun way to introduce children to the sound of jazz. We loved it. My son even sang a few of the rifts.
Shonda Moore
Shonda Moore
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March 14, 2023Great read!
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April 28, 2013What? This is a book that introduces children to Jazz. The fly, new to town, asks for directions to a jazz club from other animals and finds out there is a language barrier. The fly speak with a jazz style. The fly finally arrives at the club where he performs jazz. His boss wanted a new sound, so the fly remembered all sounds he heard earlier and incorporated that into his music. He invited all the animals he encountered with and everyone around town came to hear the new sound. It was a hit! This book comes with an audio CD which allows students to listen and hear the way the story is read.
So What? Children will love the beat and rhythm of this book. The illustrations are cute and creative.
Now What? We will follow along in the book while listening the audio CD, and then I will have the students create their own music using supplies around the classroom. Students can make a beat by lifting the trash can up and down on the ground, tapping pencils on the desk, or ripping up paper.
So What? Children will love the beat and rhythm of this book. The illustrations are cute and creative.
Now What? We will follow along in the book while listening the audio CD, and then I will have the students create their own music using supplies around the classroom. Students can make a beat by lifting the trash can up and down on the ground, tapping pencils on the desk, or ripping up paper.
February 2, 2009
Fun book, but with a lot of rhyming and jazz-scat (sp?). My 3-year-old likes this book, but I'm not allowed to call the fly "Jazz Fly" just plain old "Fly" since grandpa's dog is already named "Jazz". Anyway, the fly and some of his friends have a jazz group at a local club and the fly is running late so he asks several animals along the way how to get to the club and eventually incorporates those animals sounds into his "gig". Great illustrations and kind of a cute story. Better if you're really into jazz.
December 27, 2013
I read this and resented it at first for its rhythm. The book is written by jazz musicians in such a way as to mimic the rhythm and style of jazz. As I am not a musician, and my knowledge of jazz is quite limited, this book was difficult for me to read aloud.
Cue the CD! While I don't usually buy books with CDs included, this story lends itself particularly well to the multimedia presentation. The CD provides the reader with the "proper" way of reading the story.
Good book to use when describing the difference between spoken language, and sung language.
Cue the CD! While I don't usually buy books with CDs included, this story lends itself particularly well to the multimedia presentation. The CD provides the reader with the "proper" way of reading the story.
Good book to use when describing the difference between spoken language, and sung language.
September 17, 2014
As a jazz journalist, I practically jumped for joy when I came across this book at Barnes & Noble. Both of my kids have enjoyed it immensely; they love waving their arms, stomping their feet and singing along with the goofy bugs' jazz rhythms. Heck, I even get to read it to an elementary class on local TV next week! Fun stuff that gets kids excited about jazz, and music in general.
February 16, 2010
You just have to be really impressed when the author narrates the book and plays the musical accompaniment, too. The jazz fly gathers an assortment of animal sounds for his newest jazz creation and it's a hit. The book is written in verse and pops right along to a catchy beat. It's a good introduction to jazz or for use in a musical unit.
April 16, 2008
Great Jazz appreciation book that comes with a CD which helps the untrained Jazzy parent learn how to read the words with a more effective jazzy beat. About a fly who leads his band to jazz it up. The word play itself becomes the jazz beat and it's cool.
February 21, 2009
Another book that I always show my students, the CD is great. Very enjoyable :)
March 5, 2009
Includes audio CD which helps you figure out how to read the story so that it is jazzy. Fun way to introduce Jazz music to kids.
June 23, 2009
One of my favorites. Kids loves this one and will ask for it over and over again!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews