John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon

by Doreen Rappaport, Bryan Collier (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book biography of one of the most iconic musicians of all time.

John Lennon's influence on music and culture is legendary. From a young age, he dreamed of fame and fortune. When he achieved it as one of the Beatles, he recognized the need for a deeper meaning. His inner search for happiness shaped his life and brought new dimension to the world of rock 'n' roll.

Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier present John Lennon's life through a combination of narrative and song lyrics, cut-paper collage and watercolor art-capturing the energy and the essence of a man whose vision and creative genius continue to inspire people today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781484749623
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Series:	A Big Words Book , #2
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	1,085,224
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Doreen Rappaport has written numerous award-winning books for children, including Freedom Ship and The School Is Not White (both illustrated by Curtis James); Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a Caldecott Honor Book and Coretta Scott King Honor Book illustrated by Bryan Collier; and John's Secret Dreams: The Life of John Lennon, also illustrated by Bryan Collier.

Bryan Collier's first book, Uptown, published in 2000, received a Coretta Scott King (CSK) Illustrator Award, as well as an Ezra Jack Keats Award. The same year, Freedom River, which he illustrated, received a CSK Illustrator Honor Award. He is the illustrator of Martin's Big Words, for which he received his first Caldecott Honor Award and a CSK Honor Award. He received his second Caldecott Honor Award in 2006, as well as another CSK Award for Rosa, written by Nikki Giovanni. He is also a New York Times bestseller with Barack Obama, written by Nikki Grimes, which reached the #1 spot in picture books during its 20 weeks on the list and received a 2009 NAACP Image Award for Best Children’s Book, and has illustrated many other acclaimed, award-winning titles. 

Editorial Reviews

"This beautiful and stirring tribute will surely send readers to bookshelves and the music stores to learn more about the man."—School Library Journal

“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. A lively, if unusual, take on the pop-culture icon, whose music is as fresh today as it was then.”—Kirkus Reviews

“This ambitious picture book reveals plenty of research and an affinity for the subject. Formatted in brief lines the text describes pivotal moments in Lennon’s life, interspersing lines from his songs in larger colored type.”—Horn Book

From the Publisher

Using a combination of narrative, song lyrics, cut-paper collage, and radiant watercolor art, Doreen Rappaport and Bryan Collier have successfully evoked the life and utopian message of singer/songwriter John Lennon. As in their award-winning Martin Luther King biography, the authors capture the essence of a man whose tragic death only underlines the significance of his life. A wondrous trip through the life of a peacemaker.

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 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

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)

Kirkus Reviews