The creators of Martin's Big Words (2001) use free-verse text and pictures that tumble across the pages to introduce Lennon to a new generation. As a child virtually abandoned by his parents, John found comfort in writing and drawing. Then rock and roll shook up his life, and a meeting with Paul McCartney sent it in a new direction. Lennon's life was a panorama of talent, inspiration, dreams, and despair, and making it manageable for young readers is a mighty task. In some respects Rappaport and Collier succeed. The bold collage and watercolor artwork will draw curious eyes, and the staccato text and song lyrics provide a solid biographical framework. But as a whole, the book is overwhelming. Kids familiar with the music are the best audience, of course. Those who have heard"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, "for instance, will enjoy peering at the accompanying spread showing John surrounded by tangerine trees, whose fruit is replicated on his clothes (though here, the overriding color, maroon, doesn't fit the mood). Some spreads, like the one showing legs and feet crossing Abbey Road, will resonate only with kids who understand the reference. This will work best with Lennon's music playing in the background; kids will need that visceral connection to appreciate the textual and visual rhythms the book is trying to evoke.

This ambitious picture book reveals plenty of research and an affinity for the subject. The text describes pivotal moments in Lennon's life, interspersing lines from his songs in larger colored type. Collier's collage art is full of motion, with some psychedelic sixties colors added to the predominant brown. Appended with a list of important dates, a selected discography, and selected research sources.

<p>In their latest collaboration, Rappaport and Collier combine a spare, poetic text and watercolor-and-collage illustrations to introduce readers to John Lennon and as varied references as Lewis Carroll, Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, the war in Vietnam, and the civil-rights movement. The bright art bursts forth as pages are turned, and the busyness of the illustrations matches the frenetic tours of the Beatles. However, the circle motif in the illustrations seems overdone, creating clutter and ambiguity, while the prose style seems wrong for conveying the weighty ideas of the text. It's not clear, for example, what young readers will make of unexplained references to John's taking drugs, staging a "bed-in" for peace, divorcing his wife to marry Yoko Ono, and studying meditation to find inner peace. A lively, if unusual, take on the pop-culture icon, whose music is as fresh today as it was then. (author's note, illustrator's note, important dates, discography, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. All ages)</p>

Gr 5-8-Using a combination of simple prose, song lyrics, and illustration, this heartfelt picture-book biography traces Lennon's life from his childhood to his death. Striking in both its simplicity and complexity, it captures this enigmatic singer, artist, songwriter, and folk hero in a way that will move and fascinate those too young to remember the man but are surrounded by his music and myth. Collier's remarkable illustrations begin on the cover from which Lennon's emotionless face stares out from behind his trademark granny glasses. Inside the book, soft pastel circles appear everywhere. On some spreads, they are on the sidebars on which the text rests, accompanying an illustration. On others, they overtake the pages-sometimes as simple circles and other times incorporating themselves into the collage artwork, becoming records, or orange slices, or flashbulbs. Alternatively they trace over the illustrations, giving them a dreamlike appearance and reinforcing and celebrating Lennon's messages as his hopes for the world. Rappaport's text portrays him as a creative and tortured soul, referring only casually to his more controversial actions. His death is described simply as "murder" with no further details. His wishes for world peace and tolerance are reflected in most of the lyrics selected. This beautiful and stirring tribute will surely send readers to bookshelves and the music stores to learn more about the man.-Jane Marino, Bronxville Public Library, NY Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.