If I Only Had a Horn Young Louis Armstrong

"Orgill tells the story of a boy overcoming incredible odds to achieve his dream, without becoming too dark, maudlin or even overly hopeful, and Jenkins's dark palette looks the way jazz sounds." Publishers Weekly, Starred

Roxane Orgilland#8217;s vivid words and Leonard Jenkinsand#8217;s dramatic pictures combine to tell the story of a boy who grew up to be a giant of jazzand#151;the legendary and beloved Louis Armstrong. As a poor boy in New Orleans, where music was everywhereand#151;dancing out of doorways, singing on street corners, crying from the cornet of the great Joe Oliver for all to hearand#151;Louis longed for a horn so that he too could sing, bring home pennies, and, most of all, tap happy-feet blues till the sun rose. It wasnand#8217;t going to be easy. Many things, not all of them good, had to happen before he got his horn. But when at last he did, he sent music spiraling up into the New Orleans night sky like a spinning top gone crazy.

Roxane Orgill is a full-time freelance journalist and a long-time writer on music. A recipient of the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for writing on music, she received her Masters in Music from the University of London King's College. Ms. Orgill lives in Mt. Vernon, New York, with her husband and daughter. This is her first book for children.Painter Leonard Jenkins is also the illustrator of The Man Who Knew Too Much, retold by Julius Lester. He lives in New York City.