Trombone Shorty: A Picture Book Biography

“Trombone Shorty” is a 2016 Caldacott Honor book and a winner of the Coretta Scott King award. In this auto-biography, the author, Troy Andrews, tells his story of how he came to be the famous Trombone Shorty. This book truly belongs in the hands of all children as it is a beautiful story of how a young boy who comes from meager means, discovers not only his love of music but also a trombone that would change his life. The big idea of this story is to show that when you hold on to what you love at all costs, great things can happen. This story is steeped in rich New Orleans culture as Troy Andrews begins his story with a traditional New Orleans, ‘hello’ by saying ‘where Y’at?’ on the first page and throughout the entire story. He credits his city and his older brother with igniting his passion for music. In the beginning of the story, Andrews says that he and his friends would watch his older brother’s jazz band and they would pretend to play along. One day, at only six years of age, Troy found a trombone in severe disrepair, but he that did not stop him from trying to fix it and play it. The trombone was bigger than he was which is how he got the nickname Trombone Shorty. One day his mother brought him to the Jazz Festival to see the famous jazz musician, Bo Diddley. Troy brought his trombone to play along to the music. As Bo Diddley was playing on stage, he stopped the show to ask who was playing in the crowd. Little Troy Andrews was passed across the crowd to the stage where he played along with the band. This proved to be only the first of many, many concerts and a lifelong career in music. Bryan Collier, who also illustrated Uptown and I, Too, Am America, has a very unique illustration style which pairs well with the uniqueness of the story. He uses a surprising combination of watercolor and collage and begins every project by having his friends and family act out scenes of the story to inspire him. The collage pictures seem to keep the story grounded in reality which adds an interesting complexity to the feel of the autobiography. I especially enjoyed the pictures of Troy Andrews as a young child playing the trombone where Collier shows the music spiraling out of the trombone making the music appear as if it is its own character in the book. This book is filled with information from cover to cover. Even the jacket is loaded with information on Trombone Shorty and Bryan Collier. The only drawback is that occasionally the text is set too close to the gutter and as a result becomes difficult to read. The author’s main goal is to show the reader that it is not how you start but how you finish. He encourages children to pursue their dreams and he captures the tradition and flavor of New Orleans perfectly. I believe the author does a great job encouraging children to work hard to achieve their goals. I especially like how the story is about a young black boy but, it does not mention civil rights or slavery. It is simply a good story with a young black boy as the main character. As a result, I believe more young African American children will be able to identify with this story and it may have a greater effect on them. This book is geared toward children in grades one through four however, children of all ages will enjoy it. I would certainly recommend this book to many different grade levels, especially those interested in music. I plan to use this story as writing prompt for my fifth graders. After reading this story to them, I will have them reflect on and write about something that they love to do, or want to do in the future, and the obstacles they have had or anticipate having to overcome.

I have seen Trombone Shorty in concert twice now and every time he returns, we get tickets to see him. When I saw that he wrote a book, I had to get it. It's short but the overall message of the story is good. We really like the art work too. It's just a good coffee table book to have out for guests to look at.

Troy (Shorty) is a wonderful man and this is a wonderful book. Really captured the NOLA vibe!

I had a student pick this book out to share with me during a tutoring session. I was floored. The student told me that the librarian in his school had read it to him and he wanted to read it to me. As he started to read, I immediately noticed that he didn't understand what tone and intonation by the text that was written. Some words were in this awesome bold black font. Other words were highlighted with quotation marks and exclamation marks. As we continued to read this amazing true story, I was able to help my student learn about why authors write the way they do and why they choose certain text. The illustrations have such an honest realism to match the story and I got the opportunity to talk to my student about different cultures found in parts of cities, in the cities themselves, and states in our country. I was so enthusiastic about the book, I immediately bought a copy for my dad who loves the culture of Treme and New Orleans. I didn't tell him what I was sending but when he got it, not only did who know who Trombone Shorty was but owned one of his albums. This story resonated with an 8 year old Filipino boy and 68 year old Caucasian man. How amazing is that? The theme and morale are awesome. I found this book for a reason and it hit my soul. Music is the universal language.

My students and I love this book. It really held their attention well. Need a break or a reward, or just something different in Music Class...this book just fits the bill. Want to teach about Brass Instruments, or the Trombone, or Jazz, or Music Careers, or Music in New Orleans Louisiana...or just want some fun and a Good Book...then this Book is for You. I read the book to my young students, and show them the video of him playing Trombone for President Obama. The students really enjoy this book and lesson.

This is an interesting true story with beautiful pictures. I gave it as a gift to a little boy so his grandfather could read it to him as they both like music.

My daughter who is seven got this book for Christmas. She had read it before but requested it last night when we were reading together as a family with her sister and dad. We all loved it. What a great true story and about someone with whom I wasn't familiar. The lessons about working hard to pursue a goal are FABULOUS as is the positive role model the older brother was. I was super impressed. Not surprised this book won awards! The illustrations are clever and creative and the "Where Y'at?" phrase really caught my kids' attention. Their favorite part was the message by Trombone Shorty himself at the end of the book with pictures from his past. Super cool! I am especially pleased to have my kids read, learn about, and be excited by a character/real person who doesn't look like them and grew up in a neighborhood that's totally different from their environment.

This book is great for preteens and young teens who are interested in music. The illustrations make you feel like you're at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. It's empowering and heart warming! Based on a real person, Trombone Shorty, who had the talent and interest to learn how to play music and went on to perform with the likes of stars like Bo Diddley!

Fan de jazz et de Trombone Shorty, un beau livre sur son histoire et celle de sa ville la Nouvelle Orléans. Belles illustrations et parcours intéressant d'un enfant surdoué. Une belle histoire à faire découvrir aux enfants à travers la ville. Un beau cadeau à faire ou à se faire ce qui était mon cas.

I love this book!! I use it for my elementary music classes. I did a unit in Troy Andrews for Black History month. I also purchased his other book 5 O’clock Band - another great book!