Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale Of A Vocal Virtuosa

Ella Fitzgerald is told from the point of view of a cat. Our son, Dobbin, who was three years old when we were creating the book, served as the model for Scat Cat Monroe, the book’s narrator.

Ella, who was larger than life, is depicted as a planet in galaxy of stars, with a skirt that is a globe of possibility. The spread on which Dizzy Gillespie appears always gives viewers pause. Young readers will sometimes ask why Dizzy appears upside down in the book. We answer with a question ― “What happens when you get Dizzy?”

With his innovative, iconoclastic approach to music, Mr. Gillespie turned jazz music on its head.

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Ella Fitzgerald: The Tale of a Vocal Virtuosa. Jump at the Sun/Hyperion Books for Children, 2002.