Guy Friday-- Rockin' Guys

In honor of Guy Friday, check out this post on Michael Morpurgo's Blog. I love the photo caption: "It's not about testing and reading schemes, but about loving stories and passing on that passion to our children."

Now, put on Rubber Soul or your Beatles' LP of choice, crank the volume, and get into these rock and roll related books just in time for Ringo's birthday tomorrow. (Sorry, Paul-- don't have any connection with you in any of these items, but from what I hear, you're doing pretty well!)

Behnke, Alison. Death of a Dreamer: The Assassination of John Lennon.
1 January 2012
The fascination with the Beatles still continues among middle school students even though it has been over 30 years since the death of John Lennon. On the morning of 9 December 1980, there was a noticeable pall over my high school, and all my friends could talk about was Lennon's death. I had no real idea who he was, and couldn't have named any Beatles' tune if asked. In college, I became familiar with all of their works, but this book shed a lot of light not only on Lennon's life but the changes in society during his floruit. Concise and nicely illustrated, this book covers Lennon's early life and his involvement with the Beatles, but continues on with his marriage to Yoko Ono and his activities involving pacifism and social justice. A brief chapter explains Chapman's supposed motivations and mental illness, and the book concludes with the aftermath of Lennon's death and his social and musical legacy. At 96 pages, this is a perfect length for students who have even a faint interest in the Beatles and Lennon, and is an attractive enough book that casual readers might pick it up and be interested in learning more about this artist.

Briant, Ed. I am (Not) The Walrus.
8 July 2012
Growing up in Port Jackson without a dad and with a mum who is struggling to make ends meet, Toby's life is difficult, but he makes do. He and his friend have a Beatle's cover band that they are trying to name (and there are so many fun choices-- The Day Trippers, The Nowhere Men, etc.) and get gigs for. Toby is lucky to be able to use his brother Shawn's equipment, since Shawn is off in the military, but when he finds a note in hi precision bass that it may be stolen, he starts to wonder whether or not he should keep the instrument. Trying to return it proves interesting but perilous, since a shady guy named Rupert is very eager to get his hands on the guitar, which was used at one time by George Harrison. With the help of a girl he meets, aptly named Michelle, Toby tries to make his gigs, figure out what is going on with the guitar, and come to terms with his difficult family situation.
Strengths: This was a great realistic fiction book for boys, with a nice romance and great music connections. I'm sure that there are a lot of boys in high school who are in bands who would like to read this. It's clearly British in tone (set near London), but not distractingly so, and over the twenty years that I have been teaching, the Beatles have never waned in popularity among a small number of students. Picky Reader, who loved Jan Page's Rewind, might even read this one.
Weaknesses: Sometimes scenes dragged on with too much descriptive detail, but not often.


Miller, Barbara. Rock God: The Legend of B.J. Levine.
17 January 2012, Sourcebooks

BJ moves with his lawyer mother and ex-rocker father from Cleveland to New York City. He's excited that things might be different-- he'll be cool, not called "Dockers" by classmates, and he'll have the same close relationship with his father that his best friend Kevin has. When the weird Merv shows up and drops a book about how the Good Supreme, a legendary rocker, BJ decides to follow the vague instructions and try to become a rocker himself. He recruits Jann, a guitar player who earns money playing sappy songs at birthday parties and for the Cotton Candy Twins, as well as drummer Layla. They manage to break into a Daughters of Glenda concert and sing for her on stage, and end up traveling to Cleveland to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the company of Terry and the Pirates. BJ meets Sammy, whose father was in a bad with BJ's father. Sammy is tired of the rock life style and wants to run off to California to find her mother, but the two are railroaded by B.L.A.S.T. (Bayonne League of Angels for the Sacred Two) who believe that Sammy and BJ are the answer to a prophecy that states they will be the next Sacred Two, i.e., the two lead singers in a rock band. Complications and running around ensue, and BJ has to figure out some family secrets before he can decide if his destiny is to be a Rocker or a "Docker".
Strengths: This book had a lot of goofy, frenetic activity, and I can see it being very interesting to reluctant readers who are interested in rock music. The fast pacing makes this move quickly, and the mixture of goofy and details about being in a rock band is very fun.
Weaknesses: Sometimes the quick, goofy tone made it hard for me to follow the plot.

Banjo of Destiny

Fagan, Cary. Banjo of Destiny.
Jeremiah's parents have risen from humble beginnings to being the owners of a hugely profitable dental floss dispenser company, and are trying to afford Jeremiah all the advantages their wealth can provide. He goes to an elite private school, and takes lessons on etiquette and classical music so that he can fit in with the well-to-do. He is allowed to hang around with his friend, who is a scholarship student, but is given very little choice in the rest of his life. When he hears a man playing the banjo, he decides to build his own instrument, since his parents consider the mastery of this instrument déclassé. Building and studying the instrument despite their objections, he gets to be rather good and decides to participate in the school talent show.

Strengths: It has a lot of tips on how to build your own banjo, and for younger students (this is a tiny book) might be inspirational on how to effectively make your own choices.
Weaknesses: Not much happened. This has been described almost everywhere as "gentle", and if there is anything that students don't ask for, it would be gentle reads!


GUY FRIDAY ANNOUNCEMENT: I've finally gotten the pages filled in with reading lists. I will be updating the humor list, but the other ones will hopefully be helpful. Please e mail if there is a list you would like to see posted.

Random Blather: Open letter to authors of middle grade fiction everywhere: Yesterday, a 6th grader brought up a Lucy B. Parker book up to me with a very red face and said "Ms. Yingling, I really don't think this book is appropriate for me." "No problem," I replied. "Just return it." "But I thought you should know it had this..." she said, as she turned the page and pointed to a word.

It was "boobs".

How do you think this child would have reacted to the f-bomb?

So it's not just me. Publishers, if you want to increase your sales, think about language and content. There are a lot of YA books that would be great for 6th graders if they just had one or two words and a small situation removed. I personally don't have a problem with the word "boobs", not that it's something I use in everyday conversation. Or the boy's physical reaction in Sidekicks, since it is delicately described. But few adults are going to hand an eleven year old a book rife with foul language and teens having sex or using alcohol and drugs. Call us crazy, but I don't think I'm alone here.

Guy Friday-- Folk Guys

Golio, Gary and Marc Burckhardt. When Bob Met Woody: The Story of the Young Bob Dylan.

This picture book caught my eye at the library. It gives a brief overview of Bob Dylan's early life (as much as is known; he apparently likes to make up things about his life!) and chronicles how he went to New York City to visit Woody Guthrie, who at the time was dying of Huntington's disease. In meeting Guthrie, Dylan gained entry into Folk circles and started his long and illustrious career. Afterword and resources are included.

Strengths: Nice overview of Dylan's life. The pictures are interesting. Would be a good book for elementary schools where they study music. Might encourage students to pick up longer biographies on both artists.

Weaknesses: Not sure of how many elementary schools need these books. I have such a bad feel for elementary audiences!

Coombs, Karen Mueller. Woody Guthrie: America's Folksinger. (CarolRhoda, 2002)

This nicely illustrated and formatted book unflinchingly discusses the difficulties in Guthrie's early life in a way that students can understand. His mother, suffering also from Huntington's, had erratic behavior that resulted in more house fires than any one family should have. Guthrie's path to a career in music is discussed, and the other singers and historical figures with whom he came in contact are also described. His marital difficulties and multiple children are mentioned without judgement. His eventual demise to to the same disease that ravaged his mother ends the book.

Strengths: The tone of this was very well-done, given the difficulties of Guthrie's life. The historical background is more of a reason to get this book than Guthrie himself; it gives such a vivid picture of the Dust Bowl and all of the social issues in the first part of the last century.

Weaknesses: Students who choose this for a school project will want to select their information carefully. This could make for one depressing Wax Museum feature!

Roberts, Jeremy. Bob Dylan: Voice of a Generation.

neration. (Lerner, 2005)

As with the Guthrie book, the inclusion of vast amounts of historical information as a background for Dylan's life is what makes this book a valuable addition to a collection. As mentioned earlier, Dylan is less than truthful about his own background, but the author gathers what evidence there is to outline the story of Dylan's life. Plentiful illustrations and pages devoted to different historical topics (The Counterculture of the 1960s, The Music of Joan Baez) help to round out the picture of a colorful character.

Strengths: This would be good for a high school collection where they study the 1960s or the Beat poets.

Weaknesses: So little has been done with biographies in recent years that I can't really justify purchasing any more titles. I love biographies, but it is difficult to get students to read them. At least we can always have them sent over from the public library.