Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra

This book tells the story of how Duke Ellington grew from a boy who wasn’t sure he even liked piano into one of the most important figures in jazz. Andrea Davis Pinkney writes in a voice that has rhythm and swing, almost like the music itself, while Brian Pinkney’s pictures swirl with movement and color.

It’s less about dates and facts and more about giving children a sense of who Ellington was — playful, bold, and full of sound. By the end, you don’t just know what he did, you can almost hear the orchestra playing.