Yellow Dog Blues

by Alice Faye Duncan, Chris Raschka (Illustrator)

Overview

The New York Times New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award (2022)

A lyrical road trip through the Mississippi Delta, exploring the landmarks that shaped one of America’s most beloved musical traditions.

One morning Bo Willie finds the doghouse empty and the gate wide open! Farmer Fred says Yellow Dog hit Highway 61 and started running. Aunt Jessie picks up Bo Willie in her pink Cadillac, and together they look for his missing puppy love. Their search leads them from juke joints to tamale stands to streets ringing with the music of B.B. King and Muddy Waters. Where, where did that Yellow Dog go?

Acclaimed creators Alice Faye Duncan and Chris Raschka present a boogie-woogie journey along the Mississippi Blues Trail. With swinging free verse and stunning hand-stitched art, Yellow Dog Blues is a soulful fable about what happens when the blues grabs you and holds on tight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781467465892
Publisher:	Eerdmans, William B. Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/06/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Alice Faye Duncan has written over a dozen books for children, including Evicted! (Calkins Creek), A Song for Gwendolyn Brooks (Sterling), and Martin, Memphis, and the Mountaintop (Calkins Creek). Among other honors, Alice's books have been nominated for two NAACP Image Awards and have been named to several best books of the year lists. Alice lives in Memphis, Tennessee, where she often writes about her home state's people and history. She grew up listening to blues music on the local radio station, and her favorite artists are Koko Taylor, Howlin' Wolf, and John Lee Hooker. Follow Alice on Instagram @alicefayewrites or visit her website at alicefayeduncan.com.

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

A Black child named Bo Willie goes to feed his pet, Yellow Dog, and discovers that “My puppy love... was gone” in this picture book introduction to the musical history behind the Delta Blues. On the dog’s tail, Bo Willie heads down the Mississippi Blues Trail, traveling Highway 61, significant for the number of musicians born nearby; visiting Dockery Plantation, where “Muddy Waters played the blues”; and arriving at Blues Club Merigold, “to shimmy, shake, and boogie.” When someone reports a sighting of Yellow Dog with a band, Bo Willie realizes, “Yellow Dog moved to Memphis!... He sings the blues on Beale Street now.” Duncan’s writing is the stuff of bluesy poetry, full of heart in portraying Bo Willie’s love for Yellow Dog and journey through a significant region. Raschka’s illustrations, created from embroidery thread and fabric paint, give the book a handmade feel. Back matter contextualizes the journey. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Like listening to a blues record while wrapped up in a homemade quilt sipping sweet tea.”

Booklist (starred review)
“A historical journey, an exploration of blues music, and an exciting new technique for a Caldecott-winning artist come together in this unique artistic exploration.”

The Horn Book Magazine
“While many of the musical references will be over the heads of the picture-book audience, this simple introduction to blues history tells a universal story of loss to which many kids will relate; and some may even admire the pup’s independent spirit.”

Publishers Weekly
“Duncan’s writing is the stuff of bluesy poetry, full of heart in portraying Bo Willie’s love for Yellow Dog and journey through a significant region. Raschka’s illustrations, created from embroidery thread and fabric paint, give the book a handmade feel.”

School Library Journal
“Raschka’s artwork is unique, with a mix of cross-stitching and patches of fabric that makes readers feel cozy and comforted, reminded of a time long past.

From the Publisher

10/28/2022

K-Gr 3—The blues are not just a feeling but the sounds of the South, and they run through Duncan's story and history lesson with a smooth rhythm all the author's own. Raschka's artwork is unique, with a mix of cross-stitching and patches of fabric that makes readers feel cozy and comforted, reminded of a time long past. Bo Willis, a young Black boy, decides to go share his breakfast with his best friend, his yellow dog. When Bo goes to the dog house he notices his puppy dog is gone. Bo sets out on a journey through the Mississippi Delta, sharing his love for his yellow dog, and his love for the music that his yellow dog is searching for. The tale flows like a song as Bo pushes on to find his dog. Readers empathize and relate to the loss of a loved one; here Raschka does something unique. While his illustrations are vibrant and colorful, which seems completely opposite to the blues, they remind readers that life continues, no matter the losses. VERDICT The history of the time period and the music makes this useful in the classroom.—Jacquetta Etheridge

School Library Journal

★ 2022-07-27
A Black child takes readers on a Mississippi blues tour in search of a four-legged friend.

Bo Willie can’t find his dog anywhere. After asking around and consulting a map, he realizes that Yellow Dog, bit by the blues bug, is heading for Beale Street in Memphis, where “he sings all day and night.” Along the way, Bo Willie stops by several sites that figure prominently in blues history, among them the Merigold Blues Club, Hicks’ Tamales, and the intersection of Highway 8 and Highway 1, one of several locations mentioned in the many legends about Robert Johnson, who is said to have sold his soul to the devil in exchange for the gift of blues music. Raschka’s illustrations, created with fabric paint and embroidery on canvas, provide layers of texture and energy that give this book a soulful, country feel. The book is genius in its simplicity; instead of offering a factual account of the blues, it invites readers to feel the music—and readers absolutely will. Duncan playfully weaves in references to the blues; her text exudes the tone of a blues song yet remains cheerfully child-friendly (“Then we drove toward Merigold / to shimmy, shake, and boogie”). The backmatter includes information on the Mississippi Delta and the sites that Bo Willie visits. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Like listening to a blues record while wrapped up in a homemade quilt sipping sweet tea. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews