If I Only Had a Horn: Young Louis Armstrong

Orgrill, R. (1997). If I only had a horn: Young Louis Armstrong. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Summary

As a boy Louis Armstrong fell in love with the rhythms and music he heard on the streets near his home in New Orleans. Drums, singing, and dancing appealed to Louis, but one sound in particular—the wah-wah of the cornet—really made his heart sing. Lying in his bed at night, he dreamed of one day having a horn and making his own music.

If I could sing

I could bring

Home pennies

Play slow drag blues

Tap happy feet blues

Till the sun rose

If I only had a horn

On New Year's Eve, Louis and his friends were singing in the street to sounds of music, firecrackers, and gun fire celebrating the transition from the old year to the new. Innocently, Louis shot an old .38 into the air in response to a kid across the street. Suddenly the strong arms of the law grab him and drag him away to jail. Louis spent the next several months living in the Colored Waifs' Home, away from his family, friends, and the jazz music he so loved. He yearned to join the Waifs' Home's band, and after six long months of waiting he was finally allowed to join. He steadily worked his way up through the ranks of the band until Mr. Davis, the band director, gave him a battered but polished cornet—his very first horn. Finally, he was able to make his own music as he led the band in a parade through Perdido Street.

Worth a bookmark?

This book tells one small part of Louis Armstrong's childhood as he aspires to be a great jazz musician. The author's goal was to use several personal accounts from Armstrong and other biographies to write a story from a new perspective that demonstrates the spirit of Louis Armstrong. The illustrations are unique and add a lot of dimension to the emotions and moods felt by the characters. The tale is told in a story-teller's format and leaves a lot to the imagination. There is no indication of the year this happened so the time period is vague, and we do not know how long Louis had to stay in the Waifs' Home. Even though this book was not intended to be a comprehensive biography, it left out a lot of details that leaves readers with unanswered questions.

In my library…

This book would be great in a larger study of Louis Armstrong to add some color and dimension to his character. It would allow students doing a lot of research about his life and career to read a story about him as a kid, allowing them to connect with him as a real person. It could also fit into larger themes in a library, such as great musicians or Black History Month.

Reviews

Roxann Orgill has written a fine picture book about Louis Armstrong. Poverty was the way of life on Perdido Street, but for Louis it was the music that sustained him. He and his friends sang and beat out tunes to earn a few pennies. They called him "Dippermouth," a name that stuck. When he accidentally shoots off a gun, he is sent to the Colored Waif's Home. The best thing about this experience was that there was a band director who spotted Louis's talent. When he finally gets a cornet, his joy is complete. He can play like his hero Joe Oliver. Strong, evocative paintings create the atmosphere of New Orleans, circa 1910. Tip: You also must play Armstrong's music, or this story will fall on deaf ears. (Children's
Literature)