Maybe this story will help inspire other children with injuries, illness, or disability. A poetic biography, beautifully illustrated, told with short descriptive and active sentences, bringing us to a different time and different culture. A time of hard work and country life. A people who enjoy music, dancing and celebration. Abandoned by his father, Django scrapes by as a street musician, then plays in dance halls. A fire scars his hands and the doctors say he'll never play again. He pulls himself out of his depression and practices, forcing his hand to start to obey him. Months go by. He is again part of the music.
The end pages include a summary of the rest of Django's life, Notes on the Roma, more information about some of the historic items which readers might not be familiar with, a bibliography (for adults) and a selected discography.

The true story of Django Reinhart. Born in a “gypsy,” or Roma, encampment in 1910 Belgium, Django overcame many obstacles, including debilitating burns from a re, to become one of the world’s greatest jazz guitarists

This book is about the life of Django, I like this this book doesn't just tel what happened but focuses on the different aspects of his childhood. He moved to a lot of places and did a lot of different things but the book still shows that the banjo was his thing, My favorite part was reading about all the places he traveled to playing so passionately. It also covers the time period when he was so injured he could not play but didn't let that stop him. He still went on to play amazingly and make a name for himself. I love the illustrations in this book. I feel like all the colors give you a visual of how music makes people feel on the inside. The music makes this book artistic already but I feel like the way the book is written kind of like a poem adds to it. ( )

Django is about a boy who has a love for jazz music and inparticular, playing the guitar. However, when his hands get burned in the fire, doctors believe he will never be able to play again. He proves them wrong and becomes known as one of the best. I feel that the way the pictures were drawn and the poetic rhyming in the book made the book that much better because it actually made you feel like you where there while also enhancing the jazz aspect of it. ( )

Django's life was filled with music at an early age and he joined in every chance that he had. Moving from place to place, music may have been the one consistency in Django's life. Unfortunately, he was caught in a fire and badly burnt, injuring one of his hands and people believed he could no longer make the precious music that lifted Django's soul. He worked long and hand to rehabilitate his hand and eventually found the courage to play for the public once more. At times the pages are filled with color while on other pages the pages are dark and dreary, which brings the emotions of the words to life. I feel that the words on some pages get lost in the illustrations making it a bit difficult to read. But it is still an inspiring story of over coming a tragic injury to continue with what brings you the most joy in life. The book left me wanting more about how he became famous. ( )