Ordinary Days
The Seeds, Sound, and City That Grew Prince Rogers Nelson

Name: Ordinary Days
Brand: Macmillan Audio
Availability: InStock
Author: Angela Joy
ISBN: 9781250357793

Author: Angela Joy

Narrator: Angela Joy

Unabridged: 7 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Macmillan Young Listeners

Published: 07/30/2024

Categories: Children's Nonfiction, Biographical

Synopsis

This program is read by the author and features sound design and special effects to enhance your listening enjoyment. Listen out for the mesmerizing guitar melodies and the sounds of rain.

A rhythmic, striking biography of legendary singer/songwriter/performer Prince.

Before he became a legend, he was just a boy…

On an ordinary day, you could see him. A young boy named Prince Rogers Nelson, who had parents who fought, nowhere to call home, and a collection of memories turned into sound: the shouts of anger, the purr of pigeons, the roar of cars down a busy Minneapolis street, and the whisper of cold wind on budding lilac bushes.

Other sounds joined in as he taught himself to play the guitar, piano, drums, and much more, leading to the day this ordinary boy began to make music—and became extraordinary.

Black Is a Rainbow Color and Choosing Brave author Angela Joy’s exquisite words create a tender, profound look into music icon Prince's early life and the moments that shaped him.

Ordinary Days also includes an extensive author’s note and playlist of recommended Prince songs suitable for young listeners.

A Macmillan Audio production from Roaring Brook Press.

About Angela Joy

Angela Joy was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Before graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota, she attended New York University and Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia—where her heart will forever reside. Angela traveled abroad extensively as a background vocalist, also working in television and movie soundtracks. She currently lives in southern California with her husband and two children, writing from a small hallway desk where the walls are painted a royal shade of purple.

About Jacqueline Alcántara

Jacqueline Alcántara is the award-winning illustrator of The Field and its companion Climb On!, both written by Baptiste Paul, Freedom Soup, written by New York Times bestselling author Tami Charles, Jump at the Sun, written by Newbery Honoree Alicia D. Williams, and Your Mama, written by NoNieqa Ramos, which was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize. Her works have received multiple starred reviews and been named Best Books of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness and The Horn Book, among others. She draws and teaches illustration in Chicago, IL.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Stephanie on June 27, 2023

Reviewed from the ARC received at the ALA Conference in Chicago, June 2023, courtesy of the publisher. A lyrical, loving tribute to The Purple One, as only someone from Minneapolis could deliver. Told in verse as if a song, Prince Rogers Nelson's life story starts from his roots of having to do withou......more

Goodreads review by TheRetiredSchoolLibrarian on January 11, 2024

Brief summary: Prince Rogers Nelson was named after his father's jazz band, The Prince Rogers Trio. He had parents who constantly argued resulting in his father leaving when Prince was age 7. Prince lived in poverty, sleeping on couches in various homes, not having his own place. He excelled at playi......more

Goodreads review by Richetta on January 08, 2025

Thank you to @Roaring BrookPress and @mackids for the gifted copy. If you are a fan of Prince, this is a book for you. The language and the art of this book engage with each other beautifully like a song. The color purple dominates the illustrations. This is the story of Prince’s childhood and upbrin......more

Goodreads review by Blanco on April 17, 2024

I gave this book a slightly higher rating simply because I admire Prince so much, and want to read anything and everything about him. I appreciated that the author lived in Minneapolis and wrote from her experience. As she wrote, "Prince was more than a local celebrity. He was ours. Unexpected sight......more

Goodreads review by Caroline on February 04, 2024

A picture book biography of the late, great Prince told with emotional verse and painterly illustrations filled with Prince's signature purple. The text itself gives an emotional sense of Prince, but the back matter is where actual biography comes in. This might not be the book for someone who has n......more

Quotes

"This poetic picture-book biography is a sensitively expressed tribute... Through its compelling poetry, this poignant perspective on Prince’s boyhood illuminates the moments that led an ordinary boy to become a musician of extraordinary accomplishments." —Booklist

"The rhythm of Joy’s poetic text matches the rhythm of Prince’s early life... [this] telling of Prince’s childhood will resonate with young people who use art to find meaning in difficult days." —Horn Book

"[A] lyrical tribute to the groundbreaking Black musician." —Kirkus

"Via emotional verse and lavender-tinged spreads, Joy and Alcántra capture the life and artistry of Prince Rogers Nelson (1958–2016) in this evocative picture book." —Publishers Weekly

"In this visually gorgeous, poetic homage to Prince, readers are introduced to a brilliant musician who often drew on his painful early childhood as inspiration for his work... [T]his is a noteworthy, introductory look at a truly astonishing musician." — Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

"This is a bold biography, finding inspiration from the subject and universalizing Prince’s creativity through a gentle approach. It’s perfect for elementary schools, especially as applied to music and art." —School Library Journal