crystal_reading's review against another edition
4.0
I loved seeing the joy Flo found in singing and dancing. It reminded me of Josephine Baker. Florence Mills appears to have had a flat out love of singing. It's fun to see a child succeeding and having fun while accomplishing her goals. The book was very upbeat and the story concluded while Flo was still young. The author's note tells about the rest of her life. While it was mostly positive, I found the end of her life rather tragic as she died at thirty-one. The photograph that shows thousands of people at her funeral definitely shows that she touched many people's hearts and lives.
readingthroughtheages's review against another edition
4.0
I liked that this story just concentrated on Florence Mills' early years. The author explains how Florence got her start, how she came from a poor background and how she worked her way up. There is a great author's note at the beginning and the end. The beginning tells us how there is not much known about Florence's early years and there is some author interpretation. The author also switched where she first publicly sang since the real place was an "unsavory" location! The end note gives the reader additional information about her career and how she fell ill and passed. Well told story and beautiful illustrations.
abigailbat's review against another edition
4.0
Exuberant illustrations pair nicely with the text in this picture book biography of Florence Mills, an African-American performer at the turn of the 20th century. The text of the book focuses on her childhood, while an author's note fills in the rest of her career and her untimely death from tuberculosis. Photos of Florence are also included.
This is a great addition to the picture book biography shelves.
This is a great addition to the picture book biography shelves.
jmshirtz's review against another edition
4.0
This juvenile biography of Baby Flo tells the story of her introduction to the stage at age 3 through singing and dancing for an audience. The text tells the story well, and the illustrations are an admirable addition. I personally enjoyed the afterward the most because of its inclusion of factual information and photographs. I only wish there'd been a photograph of a younger Florence Mills, but it is possible one no longer exists. This would be a great story for kids who are nervous about performing, or who have doubts they will ever achieve their dreams.
bibliogirl's review
4.0
Illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu
This lovely picture book biography is illustrated with two-page spreads throughout. Rendered in lively, rich watercolor, they make this interesting story shine. Flo’s unquenchable personality comes to life between the pages of this story of her life, which is chronicled from her very young childhood, when she began singing and dancing. Florence Mills was beloved by her audiences all her life; do look for this lovely picture book; Goodreads doesn’t have it listed so I had to create a book page for it. Beautiful addition to any library serving young people or music fans. Wish I could share an image with you (yes, you can find it on Amazon). I reviewed a galley as an ebook. I can only imagine that the real thing is stunning.
This lovely picture book biography is illustrated with two-page spreads throughout. Rendered in lively, rich watercolor, they make this interesting story shine. Flo’s unquenchable personality comes to life between the pages of this story of her life, which is chronicled from her very young childhood, when she began singing and dancing. Florence Mills was beloved by her audiences all her life; do look for this lovely picture book; Goodreads doesn’t have it listed so I had to create a book page for it. Beautiful addition to any library serving young people or music fans. Wish I could share an image with you (yes, you can find it on Amazon). I reviewed a galley as an ebook. I can only imagine that the real thing is stunning.
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