Mama Mable’s All-Gal Big Band Jazz Extravaganza!

This tribute to the all-female swing bands of the WWII era traces their genesis to the absence of male musicians (“All the men had gone to war”) and the need for the restorative power of music (“So Mama Mable formed her band/ to cheer up this good nation”). While Sieg, making her picture book debut, models the performers on contemporary swing bands such as the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, she doesn’t aim at biography. Instead, the book underscores the excitement of swing music played by diverse female ensembles. The musicians include a black trumpeter in a hot pink playsuit—endpaper silhouettes suggest she’s based on Valaida Snow—and a saxophonist with long black hair likely inspired by Willie Mae Wong. In vibrant mixed-media art, the narrative follows a child in a red dress through inclusive spreads of women working and attending the band’s concert. When the girl is reticent to bid the musicians farewell, a supportive word from Mama Mable underlines their inherent sisterhood. A toe-tapping readaloud, a joyful vision of women in community, and a stepping stone to a discussion of music as a social enterprise. Ages 4–8. [em](Oct.) [/em]