Hill, Laban Carrick. When the Beat was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop. Illus. Theodore Taylor III. New York: Roaring Book, 2013. Print.
Genre: Picture book
Summary: Clive Campbell falls in love with music and dance parties while growing up in Jamaica. He moves to New York where he eventually becomes a very famous DJ with a lot of dynamic ideas for music. His ability to get people dancing suppresses violence between gangs and unifies whole neighborhoods.
Critique: The artwork matches the feel of the book. Hard-edged, a bit geometric, and a bit whimsical. Thick colors, very vibrant. Hill uses a steady refrain as the unifying element of the story. Every couple of pages, the story pauses and reminds the reader how Clive loves to hear the music “hip hip hop, hippity hop.” The text clearly defines terms like the “breaks” in a song, mixing beats into those breaks, as well as why b-boys are called b-boys and more. Back matter includes a fun timeline, bibliography of books, films, and web sources, and an author’s note about how he uncovered the story.
jenny mason 