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The Jazz Man book reviews https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mary-hays-weik/the-jazz-man/

https://books.google.com/books?id=NL4DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA5&lpg=PA5&dq=ebony+jr.+the+jazz+man+and+weik&source=bl&ots=XspIVThB-v&sig=1zp0VTvXRksYkzI96JOms9GGdVg&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YdM_VZqFHcjFggSn_YGIAg&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=ebony%20jr.%20the%20jazz%20man%20and%20weik&f=false

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/11/17/books/review/best-illustrated-books.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=HQcWXGSsVDIC&pg=PA81&dq=%22jazz+man%22+and+weik&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zNU_VdzrHIedNrn0gPgF&ved=0CCMQ6AEwATgK#v=onepage&q=%22jazz%20man%22%20and%20weik&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=UaIl2ebmxm8C&pg=PA452&dq=%22jazz+man%22+and+weik&hl=en&sa=X&ei=zNU_VdzrHIedNrn0gPgF&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=%22jazz%20man%22%20and%20weik&f=false

Stub 1
Elinor Whitney Field was a children's book author born in 1889. Her book,Tod of the Fens,  was published in 1928 and was the recipient of a Newbery Honor. She was also the co-founder of The Horn Book Magazine which is the oldest U.S magazine dedicated to reviewing children's literature.

Stub 2
Mary Hays Weik was a children's book author born on December 18, 1898 in Greencastle, Indiana. She was the author of The Jazz Man which received a Newbery Honor

Stub 3
Patrica Miles Martin was a children's book author born on November 14, 1899. She wrote many books under her pseudonym, Miska Miles, including her book Annie and the Old One which received a Newbery Honor in 1972.

The Jazz Man
The Jazz man is a children's book written by Mary Hays Weik and illustrated by her daughter Ann Grifalconi. The book was published by Atheneum Books in 1966 and received a Newbery Honor in 1967. A second edition was published in 1993 by Aladdin Books. The Jazz Man has also been published in Germany and South Africa.

Plot
The Jazz Man is the story of a Nine year old boy who lives on the top floor of a brownstone in Harlem with his Mom and Dad. The story begins with Zeke remembering the old home he lived in which was Down South. Zeke explains how the five flights he walks up to get home made his "legs ache beat hot and fast when he first came to live there." He became used to the stairs over time but they were still a hassle for his mom. Every night Zeke's mom came home from work, he would hear her footsteps as she struggled up the long flights. Zeke has one leg shorter than the other and "the kids downstairs stared at his lame foot and made him feel hot and different." As a result Zeke skips school most of the time and stays upstairs in his apartment staring at windows across the courtyard from his window. He becomes intrigued by the window that is always closed and has a brand new yellow wall inside. he watches this window for a while contemplating all the possible people who could move in there. Finally right when he is about to give up hope a man with a piano moves in. The man plays seemingly all day and night. Zeke enjoys the music with his family everyday soon forgetting all his troubles. Through his music, The Jazz Man helps Zeke's Mom forget about how tired she is and rent issues and the music helps Zeke's Dad forget about his unemployment. Zeke would even watch as Th Jazz Man would play with his friends who played the saxophone, drums, and trumpet. However as summer left Zeke's mom starts to get more and more irritated by the the building stairs and the fact that Zeke's dad is never able to hold down a decent job. She argues with him because he always gets fired from jobs she never wanted him to have in the first place. That night Zeke's mom reads Zeke a bedtime story while crying. The next morning Zeke's Mom leaves and doesn't return forcing Zeke and his dad to learn how to survive on their own. Quickly Zeke's dad begins neglecting his duties at home and at times would stay out for multiple days without leaving Zeke any food to eat. Zeke becomes quieter and skinnier. He tells neighbors that his mom left to visit her rich Aunt but everyone including Zeke knows this is a lie. After a while Zeke realizes he hasn't heard from the Jazz Man in a while and looks across the courtyard only to see that The Jazz Man has left him too. Zeke leaves his building one morning and walks across the street. He finds The Jazz Man playing with his buddies in a big party. Confused Zeke pinches himself and wakes up to his Dads voice. Zeke is with his Mom and Dad listening to the Jazz Man from their window. Zeke realizes that he had been dreaming this whole time and forgets all his pain.

Character List
Zeke - Nine year old boy who lives In Harlem. He has a lame one leg shorter than the other and spends most of his time listening to The Jazz Man instead of going to school.

Zeke's Dad - He is unemployed

Zeke's Mom - She works many hours and often comes home tired. When she is happy she dances.

Mrs. Dowdy - One of Zeke's neighbor from across the courtyard. She lives in the apartment with the clean, shiny windows and fancy curtains.

Lispie - A girl who "had been born without all her brains." She lives across the street from Zeke in the apartment with the crooked green blinds.

Old Bill - A man who lives across the courtyard from Zeke in the apartment with the dirty, cracked window. He drinks from his brown bottle all day and curses at anyone he catches looking at him.

Tony - One of the men who plays music with the Jazz Man. He is Italian and plays the trumpet.

Ernie - An African American Man who plays the saxophone and jams with the Jazz Man sometimes

Manuel - Another friend of The Jazz Man who plays the drums.

Critical Reception
The Jazz Man has received mainly positive reviews from critics. The woodcut drawings by Ann Grifalconi received many praises and was even named one of New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year in 1966. . When speaking about the end of The Jazz Man, Binnie Tate Wilkin wrote in her book, African and African American Images in Newbery Award Winning Titles: Progress in Portrayals "The author captures enough of city flavors to entice the reader and adds elements of pathos and a harsher reality through the dream. Skillfully done." In her book, The Best in Children's Books: The University of Chicago Guide to Children's Literature, 1966-72 Zena Sutherland goes on to say "The author has done an excellent job of showing with verisimilitude the grim facts of mores among the disadvantaged in the inner city." The Newbery Honor book also received some mixed critiques. Kirkus Reviews stated "The author does make you feel and is ably backed by the distinctive woodcuts of the illustrator. Our Harlem to Watts children may be able to recognize their circumstances in this, but it's complacent Suburbia where better missionary use of the book could be made."