Muddy

Narrator Damany Jackson's voice pulses with energy and warmth as he channels the thrumming exuberance that fuels this picture-book biography of musician Muddy Waters. Jackson's exclamations and exhortations layer sound and movement onto Mahin's electric cadence, dovetailing seamlessly with illustrator Evan Turk's explosive mixed-media artwork. Music runs throughout the story, precisely fading in and out in order to illustrate different periods in Muddy's life and musical education. The introduction of a glass slide is accompanied by a smashing bottle, a discordance that is softened as that bottle begins to sing on the neck of the guitar. Fish fry, wring-out-your-worries blues music springs up, bubbling with joy and sadness and life. This production is more than a recording--it's a pitch-perfect multisensory listening experience, guaranteed to resonate with listeners of all ages. S.A.H. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine