Today is the day! Stalebread Charlie and the Razzy Dazzy Spasm Band illustrated by the amazing Don Tate is officially a here! Here are links to a few great reviews:
Publisher’s Weekly
“After some false starts, the band takes off, and “the boys filled their hats with coins and their bellies with beignets.” The story uses onomatopoeias—“Sing-Taka-Taka,” “Scatta-Pat-Scat,” and “Skippity-Bippity-Skip”—to convey the band’s sound, and buoyant illustrations by Tate (Strong as Sandow) show a lively depiction of street life. But the book succeeds as a prompt for readers to learn more about these seminal young musicians.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Mahin’s jaunty narrative uses occasional rhyme, and onomatopoeic words scroll through in arcing display type. Illustrator Tate’s note mentions finding supporting research for his intentional visual diversity: Among the diverse denizens of Storyville, he depicts a black cop. The text ends abruptly, but Mahin’s note adds lively details. An upbeat introduction to the scrappy origins of a little-known bit of American musical history.”
Booklist
“Lively cartoon illustrations convey the movement of music, with colorful swirls suggesting sound waves, and phrases such as “skippity-bippity-skip” and “zip-zee-zoo” representing the noises made by the instruments. Based on actual events, the book ends with an author’s note, which offers further context for so-called spasm bands, which were part of the musical evolution leading to jazz, fusing influences from blues, folk, gospel, ragtime, brass-band, and dance-hall music.”
