School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-An introduction to the remarkably gifted but no longer widely known African-American pianist. Born to a runaway slave shortly before the Civil War ended, Boone lost his sight due to an infection when he was six months old. He developed an amazing ability to reproduce any sound after hearing it only once. Before he was five, he was able to repeat the piano pieces played by white children in the homes where his mother worked. While attending the Missouri School for the Blind in St. Louis, he received introductory formal musical training, but it was in the saloons and gambling houses in the city's Tenderloin District that he first heard the lively renditions of folk tunes and the beginnings of ragtime that influenced his style. Harrah's lively and appreciative text contains a great deal of fictionalizing, particularly in descriptions of Boone's childhood. A postscript by the author describes her years of research and oral-history collecting, which began when she was a college student in 1953. Numerous period photos, a chronology, a bibliography, and a list of recordings are included. A well-organized look at an interesting figure about whom very little has been written.-Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
Son of a runaway slave, John William Boone lost his sight at the age of six months and began his performing career at fifteen. Boone combined classical music, spirituals, cakewalks, ragtime, and his own unique style to become one of the earliest professional black composers and concert pianists. The competent prose is illustrated with black-and-white photos. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 5-8. John William Blind Boone, born to a runaway slave in 1864, lost his sight at the age of six months. As a child in Missouri, he earned money playing tin whistle and harmonica on street corners and trains. After some education and musical training, Boone became a concert pianist, composing and performing everything from ragtime to classical music, everywhere from local churches to international concert halls. In a postscript, Harrah describes interviews she did 50 years ago with a man who had known Boone in his prime. From those interviews as well as books and archival materials, she has put together an interesting biography of a remarkable man. One memorable chapter records how difficult travel became for Boone after Jim Crow laws restricted his access to hotels, restaurants, and even railway dining cars that had previously welcomed him. Period photos, prints, and drawings illustrate the book. Appendixes include a chronology, source notes for quotations, and lists of books, recordings, and Web sites. --Carolyn Phelan Copyright 2003 Booklist
