Bound To Stay Bound

Other - 09/22/2025 Rajan and Daley celebrate a legendary duo, Ella Fitzgerald (1917-1996) and Louis Armstrong (1901-1971), whose musical chemistry "would push and pull, push and pull. Until the music notes started to swing." The creators trace the figures’ distinct paths into music-Fitzgerald’s from Harlem, where she long yearned to perform at the Apollo, and Armstrong’s from New Orleans, where he "sang like a steam train thundering along the tracks." As adults, Armstrong played the trumpet across the U.S. while Fitzgerald performed in New York City. Their eventual meeting at the Hollywood Bowl marks a moment rendered as pivotal in dynamic text and electric-hued illustrations that echo the rhythm and energy of their collaboration. It’s a lively introduction to two icons whose friendship helped shape American music. Creators’ notes conclude. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) - Copyright 2025

School Library Journal - 10/24/2025 Gr 1–3—Though the long musical careers of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong largely ran along separate tracks, Rajan ("This Is Music" board books) finds a neat way to link the two iconic figures in the history of American music. Because Fitzgerald, renowned as a scat singer, could vocalize like a brassy horn, and Satchmo could make his sweet trumpet sound almost human, together on stage they could trade notes and phrases back and forth until their music took on an irresistible swing. This book retraces Fitzgerald's and Armstrong's musical journeys—he, growing up in New Orleans and starting out as a street corner singer; she, a would-be dancer from a Harlem orphanage—until they came together to perform a toe-tapping, high-stepping concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1956. Even young readers who may not be familiar with jazz, Fitzgerald, or Armstrong will come away from the book with a sense of what their bright, brilliant music was like, as Daley's illustrations show the very streets and buildings shimmying and twisting in time to soaring ribbons of musical notes, dancing lights, and sonic exuberance. Along with a discography, the back matter includes both a list of sources and recommended further reading for younger audiences. VERDICT A rousing tribute to two influential musical greats and the swinging sounds they made together.—John Peters - Copyright 2025 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission.

Booklist - 10/01/2025 *Starred Review* Ella Fitzgerald endured a turbulent childhood, spent some time in an orphanage in the Bronx as a teen, and yearned to be a dancer. Louis Armstrong grew up struggling, as well, and wanted to be a singer, performing on street corners and piers in New Orleans. This captivating dual picture-book biography shows how twists of fate made Fitzgerald a singer and Armstrong a trumpet player, two of the most celebrated musicians of the twentieth century who, ultimately, performed together. It also, through text and vibrant illustrations, illuminates the raucous, joyous feel of the clubs and theaters, big and small, of the Jazz Age of the 1920s and ’30s, along with Fitzgerald's and Armstrong’s distinctive styles. The first life-changing event highlighted in the book was Fitzgerald entering a talent contest at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. She intended to dance, but the dancers who came just before her were so good that she switched to singing—and wowed the audience. Armstrong’s big chance came in reform school when a teacher handed him a cornet to play. The digital illustrations, with dancing figures, curving piano keyboards, and notes that seem to bounce off the page, evoke modernist artist Archibald Motley Jr.’s famous Nightlife painting of a jazz club. A wonderful introduction to two jazz greats and their time. - Copyright 2025 Booklist.