Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters was never good at doing what he was told, a refrain that runs throughout this picture book biography by Michael Mahin (illustrated by Evan Turk). No matter who told him he couldn’t do something–his grandma, the boss man, or the Chicago club owners–Muddy did what he knew he needed to do, which was wail on his guitar. “He called up the sticky heat of a summer night, the power of love, and the need for connection in a world that was so good at pulling people apart.”

Evan Turk’s illustrations are lively and vivid, and Michael Mahin’s prose sings with passion and lyricism. Read Muddy: The Story of Blues Legend Muddy Waters and discuss perseverance and the blues.