Just a Lucky So and So

Holiday House, 2022

illustrated by James Ransome

"When I pick up that horn, that's all. The world's behind me, and I don't concentrate on nothing but it."

Louis always focused on ways in which he was lucky. Although his New Orleans neighborhood was poor in nearly everything else, it was rich in extraordinary music, from the funeral marches to the honky-tonks. Young Louis took it all in, especially the cornet blowing of Joe "King" Oliver. But after a run in with the police, 11-year-old Louis was sent away to the Colored Waif's Home for Boys where he became a disciplined musician in the school's revered marching band. By the time he returned to his neighborhood, the "King" himself became his mentor and invited Armstrong to play with him in Chicago. Just a Lucky So and So is a joyful tribute to the virtuoso musician with the buoyant personality who introduced much of the world to jazz. 

"Cline-Ransome traces Armstrong’s storied arc, from an impoverished New Orleans childhood to his apex as a giant of jazz. . . “ —Kirkus Reviews

A Bank Street Best Book of 2017

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