Women singers

Ella Fitzgerald developed a love for music and singing while she was a young girl growing up in New York.  She and her mother Tempie used to dance around their apartment while Ella's younger sister Frances repeatedly put the needle back to the beginning of the record so that they could dance and sing the day away.  They had such a grand time that they forgot all about the washing and the ironing.  The book Skit Skat Raggedy Cat Ella Fitzgerald by Roxanne Orgill and illustrated by Sean Qualls introduces us to the young Ella.  At thirteen, Ella and her friend Charlie were singing and dancing on Morgan Street outside the apartment building.  It was 1930 in Yonkers New York and people did not have much money.  But some folks were able to spare some change for Ella and Charlie.  They occasionally had a nickel or two tossed at them.

Charlie and Ella put their nickels together and they were able to take the Number 1 trolley to the end of the line.  From there they climbed aboard the subway train to 125th Street.  They were in Harlem.  Ella watched the dancers at the Savoy Ballroom on Lenox Avenue.  When Ella and Charlie danced outside the theatre, people tossed them their loose change.  They were making more money than the shoeshine boys.  Ella knew that she was going to be famous and she told everyone so.

Are you’re looking for an entertaining book to read? Are you also willing to briefly suspend reality--as in what are the chances that two main characters would randomly bump into each other…repeatedly. If you answered “Yes’” to both questions, then let me recommend 32 Candles. This first novel by Ernessa T. Carter will not leave you pondering the meaning of life, but I guarantee you won’t be able to turn the pages fast enough.

Growing up in rural Glass, Mississippi, Davidia Jones lives with her mother Cora, who is both an alcoholic and a prostitute. With no father in the picture, Cora treats her daughter with constant cruelty and contempt. To compound her misery, Davidia is equally ridiculed at school for her plain face and hand-me-down clothing. One night with Cora on the town, Davidia stages an imaginary Tina Turner concert. Arriving home early, Cora brutally beats her daughter for wearing her high heels. Davidia chooses to stop talking…permanently. She maintains her mute state through middle and into high school.