Make a Pretty Sound: A Story of Ella Jenkins—The First Lady of Children’s Music

K-Gr 3–“You sing a song, and I’ll sing a song, and we’ll sing a song together.” This lively picture book introduces young readers to the life and work of Ella Jenkins. Rhythmic text carries the hint of the music that influenced Jenkins when she was young and that she created for children throughout her career. Digitally rendered illustrations in bold colors capture the scene as Jenkins listens to Cab Calloway in a Chicago club or dances to the beat of Armando Peraza’s drums in San Francisco. Other pages show her involvement in picket lines, sit-ins, and a performance at a rally with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. protesting unfair housing. But the majority of her life story focuses on her incredible gift for sharing music with children and encouraging them to “make a happy sound.” End papers incorporate a time line of her life with the image of a record album with songs based on key events. There are also several pages of additional information about Jenkins’s career and a selected bibliography.