Doo-Wop Pop
Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 5—Collier's cut-paper and painted collages and Schotter's words sing, snap, and sashay throughout this story of a former doo-wop singer and his newfound protégés. Mr. Searle's identity is developed in a series of visuals that start on the title page. The cream-colored sweats he wears while performing his soft-shoe with a broom contrast with the pastel suit and pompadour he sported while crooning behind a microphone. The tale is told through the eyes of Elijah Earl, one of several shy kids at the African-American school where Doo-Wop Pop is the janitor. He corrals these students after-hours, and, in teaching them how to make music without instruments, helps them discover unique strengths and the joy of community. His instruction to "collect all kinds of sounds" so they can find their own has the children listening to the "squawking talk of blackboard chalk" and "papers folding, teachers scolding, the tickity-tock of our classroom clock." Paragraphs that look like prose surprise and delight as the rhyme kicks in and the rhythm builds, lines flowing effortlessly. Pop's doo-wop scatting is distinguished by a larger, distinctive blue font. Collier's scenes pulsate with pattern and pizzazz. Stairways mimic piano keys, spotlights are shaped like explosive stars, blackboards are fragmented into shades of blue. The raplike fluidity of the text and the theme of finding fulfillment through musical expression are elements that will resonate with audiences. Endpapers featuring names of '50s a cappella groups provide a reason to get the party started with a be-boppa bang.—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public LibraryCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.