Jonah Winter

As an elderly woman, Lillian recalls that her great-great-grandparents were sold as slaves in front of a courthouse where only rich white men were allowed to vote, then the long fight that led to her right--and determination--to cast her ballot since theVoting Rights Act gave every American the right to vote.

An acclaimed biographer for children, Jonah Winter brings historical figures to life for young listeners. Here he turns his talents to jazz legend John Birks "Dizzy" Gillespie. Born into poverty and the victim of vicious parental abuses, Dizzy received a trumpet one day and it changed his life forever. Dizzy follows Gillespie's journey from rural South Carolina to New York City-straight into the burgeoning jazz scene he soon immersed himself in.