Jammin’ on the Avenue

Eric Wieman, thirteen years old and a gifted guitarist, travels out of New England for the first time to compete in a guitar competition in New Orleans. Faced with the pressure of making new friends in a new place while keeping up his electric guitar finger style, Eric is paralyzed. Will he back out of the contest and give up his dream of being a professional guitar player? Does he have the right attitude to find personal happiness?

Find out for yourself. Read Jammin' on the Avenue.

Book Reviews

'Going To' New Awleens : Whitney Stewart gives kids a primer on our good life
By Matt Berman
From New Orleans Times-Picayune April 15, 2001

From China to St. Charles :  Whitney Stewart takes young readers on a journey around the world
By Peg Kohlepp , Children's book columnist
From New Orleans Times-Picayune April 16, 2001

Related Topics

State of  Louisiana Official Website:  http://www.state.la.us/

This is an excellent website with information configured expressly for students hoping to learn more about Louisiana.  The site covers an array of topics from African American history to local music to energy resources and hurricane history.  It also offers numerous interactive maps and lovely photographs. It is not specifically geared towards New Orleans, but gives a clear picture of the state as a whole.

New Orleans.com:      http://www.neworleans.com

This site includes a small section devoted to the history and culture of the city, under the sidebar listing Learn About New Orleans.  It gives brief information on history, ecology, a good definition of Creole, some basic statistics and facts, and the web sites of the leading politicians in the area.

WWOZ 90.7 New Orleans:   http://wwoz.org

This is New Orleans’s premier local music station , playing blues; jazz, Cajun, zydeco, gospel, Brazilian, Caribbean and a whole lot more. WWOZ keeps the music and musical heritage of the Crescent City alive.   On their site you can listen to their live broadcasts, look through their archived shows and search for a variety of articles about New Orleans music and culture.   Don't miss this site.

Explore New Orleans:  http://www.explore-new-orleans.com/

Provides brief, but thorough information on such New Orleans specialties as voodoo, cemeteries and plantations.  This is a site primarily for tourists but the information provided is quite good.

Maple Street Bookshop:  http://www.maplestreetbookshop.com

New Orleans ’s Maple Street Bookshop is featured in Whitney Stewart's book Jammin' on the Avenue.  Lashley, Ben and Eric go to the Maple Street Children's Bookshop to listen to famed New Orleans children's book expert, Coleen Salley, read.  The site has a section devoted to kids and provides book recommendations for a variety of age groups, books for kids specifically on New Orleans, and a calendar of their upcoming events.

Tipitina's:  http://www.tipitinas.com

The official website of the historic New Orleans music venue, featured in Whitney Stewart's book Jammin' on the Avenue.  It features downloadable live local music, live video feed of shows and a calendar of events.

Cafe Du Monde:  http://www.cafedumonde.com/

The website of the historic 24-hour cafe in New Orleans’s French Quarter.  Known for its beignets. A favorite spot of the characters in Whitney Stewart's book Jammin' on the Avenue.   The site provides a history of the cafe, a description of the traditional New Orleans foods served.

The Times-Picayune, New Orleans’s Newspaper: http://www.timespicayune.com

The website of the local New Orleans daily newspaper, giving the latest headlines and weather for the area.

Audubon Nature Institute:    http://www.auduboninstitute.org.

If you plan on visiting New Orleans, don't miss this website to find out the latest exhibitions at the Aquarium of the American, the Audubon Zoo, the IMAX theatre, and the Louisiana Nature Center. 

St. Charles Avenue Streetcar:  http://www.regionaltransit.org/mainpage.html

One of the Eric's favorite things to do in New Orleans was ride the St. Charles Streetcar. It you're going to New Orleans, it is one of the best ways to see the city above Canal Street. You can chug up St. Charles Avenue for more than 5 miles and see the 19th-century mansions of the Garden District and Uptown. The whole ride from Canal Street to the last stop on Carrollton Avenue and then back will take you about 90 minutes. If you get off at Willow Street at Carrollton Avenue, you can walk a few blocks and see the Streetcar Barn where the cars are stored. Don't miss seeing the house that looks like a wedding cake at 5809 St. Charles Avenue near Rosa Park. You can also get off at Audubon Park and feed the ducks or take the free zoo shuttle to Audubon Zoo. If you want to stretch your legs, walk through the park to Magazine Street, cross the street and enter the zoo from there.

If you're not planning a trip to New Orleans anytime soon, log on to the website for the history of the streetcar and a description of the lines.

Musée Conti Wax Museum :  www.get-waxed.com

This place is a little spooky because of its dark walls and low lighting, but you'll love the authentic wax figures and historic tales. Catch a glimpse of New Orleans as it was over the past 300 years. You'll even see Napoleon in his bathtub and Voodoo Queen Marie Laveau selling her voodoo charms.

Louisiana Children's Museum:  www.lcm.org

This museum is geared for younger children (ages 1 to 10), but Ben likes the science experiments, scaling the small climbing wall, and trying out the computer music room on the second floor. The water-squirting games and the giant bubble-making hoop are great. Also fun is the television broadcasting room where you can sit at a news desk in front of a television camera and read the news like a famous anchorperson.

If you're not planning a trip to New Orleans log on to this site anyway for fun games, scavenger hunt, geography quiz and other fun interactive and a list of fun links for kids.