As a girl, my greatest freedom was to ride my bike to my local library.* I filled my basket with books, usually including one or two "orange biographies." You'll probably know them as the Bobbs-Merrill "Childhood of Famous Americans Series" with black-paper silhouettes and orange covers.
As an adult, after years as a music critic, I began writing... biographies! Just as I liked how the "orange" books made the subject's life into a story, I tried to do the same with Ella Fitzgerald's young life in SKIT-SCAT RAGGEDY CAT.
Fatherless, Ella lost her mother at 14, got sent to an orphanage, was homeless in Harlem, and still managed to sing her way to a job with Chick Webb's band and a hit song on the radio. Now that's a story!
Yours truly,
Roxane
* There's more about my abiding affection for libraries in the Bio section of my website: www.RoxaneOrgill.com.
P.S. Email me with your Favorite Ella Fitzgerald Song to enter to win a signed copy: roxane@roxaneorgill.com.
"Crackles with tension and verve." Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"The lively writing sings and swings along with Ella." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"An effective interplay of relatively dense text and, well, jazzy illustration that should appeal to a crowd that might consider itself well past picture books." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A Junior Library Guild Selection
A CYBIL (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards) Finalist.
Skit-Scat Raggedy Cat: Ella Fitzgerald / Roxane Orgill / Candlewick