The Story of the Saxophone

Illustrated by James E. Ransome
Brassy, smokey, melodious. There's nothing like the saxophone. This incredible work from the award-winners behind Before She was Harriet includes a poster of jazz music's greatest talents.

You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker, or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax—a boy with bad luck but great ideas.

Coretta Scott King Honoree Lesa Cline-Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's journey from Adolphe's imagination to the pawn shop window where it caught the eye of musician Sidney Bechet and became the iconic symbol of jazz music it is today. 

Deflty retold, this history is paired with the gorgeous artwork of James E. Ransome, including an attention-grabbing poster of iconic jazz musicians you can find inside the jacket.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of more than twenty books for young readers including the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a plethora of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, a Coretta Scott King honor, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a Christopher Award. Her work has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children’s Book lists and she lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

James E. Ransome's has illustrated many award-winning books for children. His numerous accolades include a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for The Creation; a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for The Bell Rang, Before She was Harriet, and Uncle Jed's Barbershop; and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Let My People Go. He lives in upstate New York.
★ "The well-established author-illustrator team achieves a strong, unified vision."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "A now-essential piece of reading for music lovers. . . Ransome's detailed, relaxed line captures historical periods with precision and vibrancy, and his illustrations of the jazz musicians who made the instrument famous are especially striking. It's a biography whose warm, mellow tone matches that of the instrument itself."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

★  "Cline-Ransome invites readers' empathy through clearly established stakes as Sax triumphs over critics, while Ransome's initially muted cityscapes give way to vibrant celebrations of band music, and end-paper portraits celebrate a diverse array of saxophonists."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Richly detailed, wonderfully expressive illustrations complement the text perfectly. . . . A satisfying story of a persistent, creative genius. Readers will almost be able to hear soft saxophone music playing in the background."—Booklist

"Engagingly links the jazz saxophone with its European roots."—Kirkus Reviews

"Ransome's illustrations shine with careful detail. . . ."—The Horn Book

About

Brassy, smokey, melodious. There's nothing like the saxophone. This incredible work from the award-winners behind Before She was Harriet includes a poster of jazz music's greatest talents.

You may think that the story of the saxophone begins with Dexter Gordon or Charlie Parker, or on a street corner in New Orleans. It really began in 1840 in Belgium with a young daydreamer named Joseph-Antoine Adolphe Sax—a boy with bad luck but great ideas.

Coretta Scott King Honoree Lesa Cline-Ransome unravels the fascinating history of how Adolphe's once reviled instrument was transported across Europe and Mexico to New Orleans. Follow the saxophone's journey from Adolphe's imagination to the pawn shop window where it caught the eye of musician Sidney Bechet and became the iconic symbol of jazz music it is today. 

Deflty retold, this history is paired with the gorgeous artwork of James E. Ransome, including an attention-grabbing poster of iconic jazz musicians you can find inside the jacket.

A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Author

Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of more than twenty books for young readers including the award-winning Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a plethora of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, a Coretta Scott King honor, the Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction and a Christopher Award. Her work has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children’s Book lists and she lives in the Hudson Valley region of New York.

James E. Ransome's has illustrated many award-winning books for children. His numerous accolades include a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for The Creation; a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor for The Bell Rang, Before She was Harriet, and Uncle Jed's Barbershop; and an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Let My People Go. He lives in upstate New York.

Praise

★ "The well-established author-illustrator team achieves a strong, unified vision."—School Library Journal, Starred Review

★ "A now-essential piece of reading for music lovers. . . Ransome's detailed, relaxed line captures historical periods with precision and vibrancy, and his illustrations of the jazz musicians who made the instrument famous are especially striking. It's a biography whose warm, mellow tone matches that of the instrument itself."—Shelf Awareness, Starred Review

★  "Cline-Ransome invites readers' empathy through clearly established stakes as Sax triumphs over critics, while Ransome's initially muted cityscapes give way to vibrant celebrations of band music, and end-paper portraits celebrate a diverse array of saxophonists."—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Richly detailed, wonderfully expressive illustrations complement the text perfectly. . . . A satisfying story of a persistent, creative genius. Readers will almost be able to hear soft saxophone music playing in the background."—Booklist

"Engagingly links the jazz saxophone with its European roots."—Kirkus Reviews

"Ransome's illustrations shine with careful detail. . . ."—The Horn Book

Books for Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month

Penguin Random House Education is proud to celebrate Latinx & Hispanic Heritage Month, which runs annually from September 15th through October 15th. We are highlighting the works of our authors and illustrators from the Latinx and Hispanic community, whose stories and characters have a profound impact on our society. Here is a selection of titles

Read more

Reading with Purpose Summit Event

On Monday, June 10th, Penguin Random House Education and DK Learning co-hosted a Reading with Purpose Summit Event in collaboration with Molly Ness, PhD. The event took place at Penguin Random House’s NYC headquarters and included sessions featuring leading education experts and a lunchtime author panel. The in-person professional learning event was built to show

Read more

2024 Elementary School Collection

The Penguin Random House Education Elementary School Collection features outstanding fiction, nonfiction, and picture books from Penguin Young Reader’s, Random House Children’s, DK, and Grupo Editorial, as well as children’s publishers distributed by Penguin Random House. Explore online or download this valuable resource to discover great books in specific topic areas such as: Leveled Readers,

Read more

DK Learning Phonic Books Sampler Request

Thank you for your interest in DK Learning | Phonic Books. To download the DK Learning | Phonic Books sampler with four complete readers, please click here and complete the form. Once your information is successfully submitted, a link to download the sampler will be provided on the confirmation screen.   Click here to learn

Read more

PRH Education Translanguaging Collections

Translanguaging is a communicative practice of bilinguals and multilinguals, that is, it is a practice whereby bilinguals and multilinguals use their entire linguistic repertoire to communicate and make meaning (García, 2009; García, Ibarra Johnson, & Seltzer, 2017)   It is through that lens that we have partnered with teacher educators and bilingual education experts, Drs.

Read more