Leslie Gourse (1939–2004)

Author of Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker

34 Works 825 Members 3 Reviews

About the Author

Leslie Gourse is a freelance writer whose books on jazz include Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan, Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole, Louis's Children, an acclaimed history of jazz singing, Everyday: The Story of Joe Williams, and jazz biographies for young adults.

Includes the name: Leslie Gourse

Image credit: Source: The back jacket flap of the 1995 book "Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists" by Leslie Gourse in the book I own: http://www.folklib.net/index/discog/bibliog8.shtml#oe

Works by Leslie Gourse

Popular Recent

Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker (1996) 316 copies, 1 review

Straight, No Chaser: The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk (1997) 63 copies

Unforgettable: The Life and Mystique of Nat King Cole (1991) 38 copies

Madame Jazz: Contemporary Women Instrumentalists (1995) 37 copies

Sassy: The Life of Sarah Vaughan (1993) 34 copies, 1 review

Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women of Jazz (2007) 31 copies, 1 review

Jim Henson: Young Puppeteer (2000) — Author — 30 copies

Aretha Franklin, Lady Soul (Impact Biographies) (1995) 29 copies

Billie Holiday Companion: Seven Decades of Commentary (Companion Series) (1997) 25 copies

Louis' Children: American Jazz Singers (1984) 18 copies

Swingers and Crooners: The Art of Jazz Singing (1997) 17 copies

Deep Down in Music: The Art of the Great Jazz Bassists (Art of Jazz) (1998) 17 copies

Wynton Marsalis: Skain's Domain: A Biography (1999) 17 copies

Carmen McRae: Miss Jazz (2001) 13 copies

Gloria Estefan: Pop Sensation (1999) 13 copies

The Ella Fitzgerald Companion: Seven Decades of Commentary (1998) 13 copies

Wynton Marsalis: Trumpet Genius (Book Report Biographies) (1999) 13 copies

Striders to Beboppers and Beyond: The Art of Jazz Piano (1997) 12 copies

Blowing on the Changes: The Art of the Jazz Horn Players (The Art of Jazz) (1997) 12 copies

Every Day: The Story of Joe Williams (1985) 10 copies

Billie Holiday the Tragedy and Triumph of Lady Day: The Tragedy and Triumph of Lady Day (Impact Biographies) (1995) 10 copies

Art Blakey: Jazz Messenger (2002) 9 copies

Dizzy Gillespie and the Birth of Bebop (1994) 7 copies

Fancy Fretwork: The Great Jazz Guitarists (Art of Jazz) (1999) 7 copies

Native American Courtship and Marriage Traditions (Weddings/Marriage) (2000) 7 copies

Time Keepers: The Great Jazz Drummers (The Art of Jazz) (1999) 6 copies

The Best Guided Walking Tours of New York City for Residents and Visitors Exploring the Neighborhoods of Manhattan and… (1989) 5 copies

Mahalia Jackson: Queen of Gospel Song (Impact Books- Biographies Series) (1996) 5 copies

The Congress (First Book) (1994) 4 copies

Lady Be Good 2 copies

To Kill a Mockingbird: A Critical Commentary, Analytic Notes and Review (A Study Master Publication) (1965) 2 copies

Student guide to New York (1984) 1 copy

With Gall and Honey 1 copy

The Golden Age of Jazz in Paris and Other Stories About Jazz (2000) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Tagged

17th century (3) African American (7) Ages 8-12 (3) American history (6) Billie Holiday (5) bio (6) biographies (11) biography (104) Childhood of Famous Americans (10) children (3) COFA (7) cultural studies (4) Ella Fitzgerald (5) fiction (3) grade 5 (5) historical fiction (6) history (22) Indians (4) jazz (67) Jazz - Biography (4) jazz musicians (6) juvenile (5) juvenile literature (4) music (68) musicians (7) Nat King Cole (3) native (4) Native American (6) Native Americans (6) non-fiction (26) nonfiction-biography (3) Pocahontas (8) Rhode Island Authors (4) Sarah Vaughan (4) singers (12) tbr-adult-nf (7) Thelonious Monk (6) to-read (12) USA (10) women (9)

Common Knowledge

Legal name: Gourse, Roberta Leslie
Birthdate: 1939-01-01
Date of death: 2004-12-23
Gender: female
Nationality: USA
Birthplace: Fall River, Massachusetts, USA
Place of death: New York, New York, USA
Education: Columbia University
Occupations: writer
biographer
Short biography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_G...

Members

Reviews

Pocahontas: Young Peacemaker (Childhood of Famous… by Leslie Gourse

Summary: How the Native American Pocahontas bridged understanding between English settlers and those of her own tribe.

Personal Reaction: This book is written more in the story format, as opposed to the historical or biographical format. I think in that way, it holds a stronger appeal to younger children. Pocahontas is a very popular figure among children. She demonstrates compassion, kindness, and seems to want to integrate two societies together, or at least to learn to act civil toward each other.

Classroom Extensions: Build canoes out of classroom materials to show how Indians navigated rivers and streams.

I would teach them a lesson plan on berries which Indians often foraged for....and learn this saying, "berries white, poisonous sight."… (more)

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Dowrox | Jul 19, 2016 |

Sassy: The Life Of Sarah Vaughan by Leslie Gourse

The rise of the amazing singer, Sarah Vaughan, from show-stopping teenaged songstress at the Apollo Theater, to the heights of the classical music world, with her collaboration with Michael Tilson Thomas. How she stayed "Sassy" all the way, and never missed a beat.

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harrietbrown | Mar 22, 2014 |

Sophisticated Ladies: The Great Women of Jazz by Leslie Gourse

This is a great book for music and black history. This book spotlights historic and beautiful singers of blues and jazz in America. Each singer is given their seperate pages with beautiful illustrations of each singer, along with a brief but very well put together life history. This book is great for book reports etc. Each story is short but interesting and gives a lot of the important information of each singer.

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TamaraSmith | Jan 22, 2013 |

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