Bird & Diz
Two Friends Create Bebop

written by Gary Golio & illustrated by Ed Young
Candlewick Press

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It's here!

A playful tribute to Charlie "Bird" Parker and John "Dizzy" Gillespie, the two friends who created Bebop jazz in the 1940s. Follow Bird and Diz as they juggle notes back and forth, try to top one another, and push the limits of sound and speed to create an exciting new kind of American music. Ed Young's illustrations beep and bop to the rhythm of Gary Golio's lyrical text, in a novel format that can be read as a regular book or opened out into one long sheet of visual fireworks!

Be-bop-a-skoodley Doo-wa!

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"Exuberant and gorgeous--like the music."
Kirkus Reviews

"The book's language and images are every bit as vibrant as the music they celebrate."
Publisher's Weekly, *starred review*

"The free verse is arranged to conjure speed and playfulness...the music pulsing across the gutters, climaxing in a rainbow of percussion."
School Library Journal, *starred review*

"To call Young's art dazzling is no exaggeration, as it pops with splashes of color and bold lines that swirl and swoop, spin and curl. ...Bebop has never been so beautiful."
Bookpage (Julie Danielson)

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Check out School Library Journal's Teaching Guide for using Bird & Diz in the classroom!
(grades 3 and up)

Watch Bird and Diz Play Together!