Weatherford, Carole Boston (2008). Becoming Billie Holiday. Honesdale, PA: Windsong.Art by Floyd Cooper.
2009 Correta Scott King Author Honor Book.
Weatherford successfully captures the haunting voice of Billie Holiday not in song, but in free verse. Borrowing from famous song titles from Holiday's art, Weatherford tells the life of this legend starting from her birth, through a turbulent childhood, then into a youth with all innocence lost which rushes Billie into adulthood way too soon.
This book reads like an autobiography set in poetical music and takes the reader deeper into the life of Billie Holiday than any "mere" prose could do. With the help of the addition of Floyd Cooper's visual art, the reader transcends mere visual aestheticism and is transported to yet another haunting dimension in an already very haunting and moving telling of a life which so impacted the world.
The book ends on a hopeful note from "Strange Fruit." But as history reminds us that Billie died in 1959 at the age of 44, one must conclude that her soulful music must have sustained her until then, because it seems to be a miracle that Billie even lived that long.
Weatherford's words are truly musical with the added benefit of an extensive use of figurative language. This gives the words a deeper aesthetic dimension and moves the reader into so many emotions. A fine tribute to Billie Holiday and her music!
Although this book is a Correta Scott King Honor book in Children's Literature circles, the reader must be cautioned that Weatherford did not dilute the tragedies in Billie's life and a judgment must be made as to the appropriateness of this artful book for our youngest readers.
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