The Horn Book Guide

THE ARTS

Hill, Laban Carrick

When the Beat Was Born: DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop

32 pp. | Roaring Brook | August, 2013 | Trade ISBN 978-1-59643-540-7 $17.99

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Theodore, III Taylor. Clive (Kool Herc) Campbell, the "father" of hip hop, moved from Jamaica to the Bronx with a passion for music and a dream of DJing. Hill's "hippity hop[py]" text eventually settles on an appropriate cadence. Taylor's double-page illustrations capture Herc's skilled hands at the turntables and the vitality of a burgeoning art form. A welcome addition to an underrepresented subject. Timeline, websites. Bib.

Reviewer: Shara Hardeson