Horn Book (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2011)

These "unauthorized rockographies" are good starting points for rock-and-roll researchers (though they should take the super-stoked narration with a grain of salt). Each volume provides detailed descriptions of the title band's members, history, and career highs and lows. Clean design, including many photographs, makes the information easy to follow; photo captions tend to repeat rather than extend the texts. Discographies are included. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

ALA Booklist (Mon Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

The opening chords to such classics as Paranoid and Iron Man should awake the inner beast of all budding headbangers d if not, hand them this book in the Rebels of Rock series. Refreshingly levelheaded and loaded with sourced quotes, it's that rare middle-grade biography (or rockography, as the title page insists) that is able to trace a band's history, revel in its rock awesomeness, and be blunt about such things as drug abuse, all the while keeping things at an age-appropriate keel. Aberback starts with the teen years, including Ozzy Osborne's time as a petty thief and Tony Iommi's factory accident that resulted in two lost fingertips d created a new guitar sound that would define Black Sabbath. Packed with pics, it's all here: the demonizing of Sabbath as devil worshipers; the drug experimentation; Ozzy's firing and substitution by Ronnie James Dio; Ozzy's biting the head off a bat; his later reality show. And if Sabbath's too heavy, try other series titles, like Aerosmith or Def Leppard (both 2010).

School Library Journal (Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

BOWE, Brian J. The Ramones: American Punk Rock Band . 128p. ISBN 978-0-7660-3233-0 ; ISBN 978-1-59845-213-6 . LC 2008040362. BURLINGAME, Jeff . Aerosmith: Hard Rock Superstars . 112p. ISBN 978-0-7660-3236-1 ; ISBN 978-1-59845-210-5 . LC 2009006469. ea vol: (Rebels of Rock Series). photos. chron. further reading. glossary. index. notes. discography. Web sites. CIP. Enslow . 2010. PLB $31.93; pap. $9.95. Gr 7 Up Avid fans of rock music will find these titles appealing, entertaining, and enlightening. Each book begins with a brief introduction to the band through an account of a major musical event. Subsequent chapters include short biographies of the various band members. Black Sabbath musicians grew up in Birmingham, England, and came from poor working-class families. The Ramones were not related, although they all lived in the same apartment complex in Queens, New York. Aerosmith formed more by chance and the group members always seemed at odds with one another. Direct quotes add life to the well-written and lively narratives, communicating dramatic highs and lows, tensions, disagreements, and personnel changes, as well as drug use, alcohol, and personal relationships. Descriptions and analyses of the music and albums offer insight into the impact each band had on today's rock music. These volumes are attractively formatted with black and gray silhouettes of concertgoers running along the bottom edges of the pages and have copious color photos of the performers in action. Susan Shaver, Hemingford Public Schools, NE