Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought)

Krull, Kathleen. Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought). 1993. 96pp. Lexile 1010.

Meet twenty-four well-known musicians in this witty collective biography.  Large caricatures set the tone so readers know they will be entertained as well as informed about such classical stars as Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, and Vivaldi.  American musicians such as Joplin, Gershwin, and Woody Guthrie also put in an appearance.  Krull describes professional highlights and adds sometimes eccentric details about each one, weaving in references to specific pieces of music.  This is one of several books by Krull along the same lines—including artists, famous women, presidents, and athletes. While highly enjoyable, the series is also especially useful for students who benefit from short chunks of text and the support of pictures.

Reading Std #1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and implicitly, citing specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from it.  Krull manages to convey the personality of each musician.  Have students each choose one of the musicians and analyze how she conveys a sense of the person through her language and the details she includes.

This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie

Partridge, Elizabeth. This Land Was Made for You and Me: The Life and Songs of Woody Guthrie. 2002. 217pp. Lexile 1020.

This thoughtful biography of a complicated man highlights Guthrie’s talents as a folksinger and songwriter, and his commitment to political causes.  At the same time, the author discusses Guthrie’s personal problems, such as the ways he let down his wives and children.  Hardship and pain occurred throughout his life: his sister and one of his daughters died in fires.  His mother had undiagnosed Huntington’s disease, which affected Guthrie as well and ended his career.  Partridge sets Guthrie’s life in the social and political context of the 1930s through 1960s.  Multiple photographs, reproductions of Guthrie’s own witty drawings, and excerpts of lyrics enrich the text.  This is listed in Common Core's Appendix B.  It was the winner of the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Nonfiction and one of five National Book Award for Young People nominees.

Reading Std #7:  Integrate and evaluate content presented in diverse media and formats, visually and quantitatively, and in words. Compare the Partridge biography with the much-lauded 1976 film about Guthrie, Bound for Glory (PG rated).