Who Was Elvis Presley?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Geoff Edgers, Who H.Q., John O'Brien (Illustrator)

Put on your blue suede shoes and get ready for another addition to the Who Was…? series! The King could not have come from humbler origins: Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Depression, he grew up with the blues music of the rural South, the gospel music of local churches, and the country-western classics. But he forged a sound all his own—and a look that was all his own, too. With curled lip, swiveling hips, and greased pompadour, Elvis changed popular music forever, ushering in the age of rock and roll. Geoff Edgers’s fascinating biography of this icon of American pop culture includes black and- white illustrations on nearly every spread.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Music, Chapter Books, Biography Memoir

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Edgers is a reporter for the Living/Arts section of The Boston Globe, covering arts and culture. His beat ranges from music and museums to popular culture. His work has appeared in Wired, GQ, and Spin magazines, and he has published several children's books.

Reviews

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 stars.

[Nicholas Papavero · Rating 3 out of 5]

He was the king of rock and roll! Very tough life when he was singing

[Clayton Maxwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "Who Was Elvis Presley?" by Geoff Edgers is about Elvis Presley's life. Elvis Presley was a poor child born on January 8th, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi. Everyone who saw Elvis said that he had something special. He could sing and play the guitar, and he was amazing at both of those hobbies. He was also different from everyone in that time period, for example, he would slick his hair back, wear tight clothes, and his dances were very different. Although parents didn't like Presley at all, all of the kids and teens loved him.

I really liked the book "Who Was Elvis Presley?". It was written very well, and it was easy to read and comprehend. I wouldn't do anything to change this book.

I would recommend this book to people in 7th grade and up. It was a very interesting book, but it also talks about drug addiction and war. This book was a very good book,

[Sheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives a brief, accurate account of the life of Elvis Presley.

[Reiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd say this was a really good book. It takes the reader back in time. Elvis' life was very hard but he made it to his destiny.

[Licha · Rating 3 out of 5]

That beautiful cover made me pick up this book. There were actually several others from the collection and all of them have those beautiful covers that are hard to resist picking up. I checked three of them out thinking they were going to short, fluffy reads, toned down for kids. No gain, no loss. To my delight, I actually enjoyed this very much.

This seems to be geared for the tween age, but it's quite comprehensive as a biography, covering major events in the singer's life. Although this is geared for kids, I liked that it didn't shy away from mentioning Elvis's drug problem. It doesn't go into deep detail, but it doesn't shy away from mentioning just because it's a kids book.

I like the timeline they add at the end of these books (I've read a few since). One is a timeline of things in Elvis life; the other timeline on the opposite page is a timeline of world events as they relate to the same period in Elvis's life.

The illustrations in this book were a bit crude, and considering the pretty cover on this, a bit disappointing.


Random facts for me:

--The Beatles, who were big fans, once went to visit him at Graceland. Elvis was in a bad mood, perhaps feeling like he no longer was as popular as he once was, basically ignored them as they sat in the room with him. Eventually, he came around and they played some music together.

Can you imagine meeting your idol and then he acts like that? I thought it was funny but I don't know if I would have had the same opinion of him afterward.


--Before Elvis became big with this new style of music, rock and roll, kids would listen to "bubble gum" pop to such hits as "(How Much Is) That Doggie in the Window?".

So of course I had to listen to this and although a cute song, I can't imagine how teenage kids were into this. I can definitely see why rock and roll became so popular and a rebellious movement for teens.

[carolyn⭐️⭐️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok i speed read this in BAM and i love elvis but lowkey not as good as the movie but i learned new things so 🤞😔

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 7-year old daughter, Beatrice, is an Elvis fan. Actually, fanatic might be a better description. She was from the very first moment she heard him sing. When she was four, she discovered there was an Elvis "Barbie" doll and she had to have it (now she has two!). When she was five, we toured Graceland. She absorbed every part of the tour, wanted to hear parts of the recorded tour more than once and loved every second of it.

So, when she brought this book home from the school library, there was no surprise on my part. After scoring a whopping 96th percentile for reading and language arts, she was borderline for the language arts accelerated learning program. The teacher recommended I read what she (and all my kids) were reading so I could discuss the books with her and make sure she was getting the key comcepts, etc. To be honest, I grew up in a family that loved Elvis. I'd known about him my whole life and thought I knew him. That is . . I knew more than the average person, but way less than some of his die-hard fans. I knew enough to make me content.

Then I read this. I can't believe how much I learned! I can't believe how different parts of his life, especially his addiction and problems at the end of his life, were handled. If this were a book for young adults or even adults, it would not have enough details for 5-stars. But for kids? For my 7-year old? It's GREAT!! It's got more details than I could imagine putting in a book for kids. Most importantly, Beatrice absolutely loved it and talked about it & what she learned from it half the night tonight. It's informative in an honest and straight forward way. It puts things in terms that are easy to understand and yet I never felt like any part was glossed over or romanticized or omitted.

I don't know if this is the high-quality "literature" that the accelerated teacher wanted us to encourage, but it was definitely a good read . . even for Mom!

[Piper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazed, I was

[Jillian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whenever I think of Elvis Presley, I think of two things: a sock-hop my elementary school won when I was in the fourth grade and an old story of my dad's. When he was a teenager, he went with his older sisters to see Elvis. Apparently, it was towards the end of Elvis's life when he was out of shape. Elvis was wearing one of his famous white jumpsuits. He played a set, introduced his band for thirty minutes, wiped his face on a washcloth and tossed out to the crowd, and left! Everyone just sat there in shock until someone announced, "Elvis has left the building!"

This being two of my dominant memories of Elvis, I really did enjoy this book and definitely recommend it as a foundation to learning more about Elvis. Though some of the facts are now outdated, it's still pretty accurate and well-rounded.

I'd recommend for kids who are sick of asking their parents who Elvis is or just want to learn more.

[Liam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the book Who was Elvis Presley was pretty good because it had good interesting facts about Elvis's life like how his mom died. I thought it could have used a little bit more text so the book was longer. I thought the pictures could have used a little more detail and more time. I thought it was cool how he went to a recording studio to record his songs. I think it could have used more facts because that would have made there more text, make the book longer, and it would have made it a 5 star book. That's why I gave this book 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jessie Glaws · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very informational. I thought it was interesting because there was a lot of things that I didn't know about Elvis Presley. It says his entire life story like how he felt after concerts and his family. Also, it adds interesting details about how people think he is still alive and when people spotted him.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The "Who Was..." series is always very popular for children when it comes to biographies. This version on Elvis Presley is very informative about his rise and fall in both his career and personal life.

[Alden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great. It was very cool to learn about this big rock star and see how he lived his life. I found out so many things that I hadn't known about him before and that was cool. I would recommend this to anyone who likes learning about really famous people.

[CalebWebb · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a lovely book. It was very halarious. It had amazing facts about his life.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book about Elvis. While most of the facts were things I already knew there were a few things that I didn't know. A great little series.

[Erin Pierce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall view of the life of "the King".

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite the fascinating life!

[Erika Kendron · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some accuracy issues.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Was Elvis Presley? by Geoff Edgersis one of the award winning "Who Was..." series; this series is targeted for younger readers but is also interesting for older readers as well with black-and-white artwork throughout; illustrated by Nancy Harrison for this book. Put on your blue suede shoes and get ready for Who Was Elvis Presley, aka The King of Rock and Roll. Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, during the Depression, Elvis grew up surrounded by the blues music of the rural South, the gospel music of local churches, and country-western classics of the local community. But he forged a sound and a new look that was all his own. With curled lip, swiveling hips, and greased pompadour, Elvis changed popular music forever an was a major influence on the groups worldwide that followed spreading the age of rock and roll. Geoff Edgers’s fascinating biography of this icon of American pop culture includes black and- white illustrations on nearly every spread. Love him or not, there is no question that Elvis was a major influence on the growth and direction of rock and roll.

[Giannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book, ¨Who was Elvis Presley.¨ I suggest this book for 5th-7th grade. This book was about how Elvis Presley became famous and some background about him. Did you know that Elvis Presley was not always rich he was actually very poor. Elvis was born in his home with a twin brother that was stillborn :(. As Elvis grew up he would always like to sing at his church. For his 11th birthday he got a guitar and he would always take if to school. Many students would make fun of him, but some even cut the strings off the guitar. One day Elvis made a song for his mom. It was played on the radio and many people enjoyed it. Elvis was slowing become a star. One day they called back into the studio to record another song. Nothing seemed to be working. Elvis began to sing the song of an old blues song and it sounded good! Will Elvis´s career fail or will he become a star? Read the book to find out.

[Kristi Clemow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learned a few things about Elvis - not that I knew a whole lot about him anyway. I found it interesting how the books just glosses over the fact that a 24 year old man went after a 14 year old girl - but at least they didn't ignore it completely.

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book written for young children but one with a lot of useful information about Elvis Presley. I learned a few things even though I thought I knew Elvis pretty well. A well written book.

[Erin Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty solid quick kid read about Elvis. Excited to visit Graceland in a few days!

[China · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned about Lilo’s idol ( from Lilo and Stitch ) I fell sorry about his latter life but his his songs live on especially my favorite Can’t Help Falling in Love With You

[Daniel Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since this is August 16, I decided on a quick Elvis book (audio) in his honor. This wasn't bad. Sure, it glossed over lots of events, but I was glad it was honest about his drug use.

[Felipe Alfaro · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good book, but I was disappointed that Elvis’s passion for karate was not even mentioned. I also wanted to know why he and Priscilla fought so much, but that wasn’t explained either.

[Eduardo Lemus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Was Elvis Presley By Geoff Edgers Was an amazing book! It illustrates his childhood as he was very poor. it then talks about him finding his talent of singing rock and roll. There were a lot of things this book mentioned about Elvis most people never knew about him. the book was very descriptive about his whole life and the things he had to go through such as the great depression. i recommend this book to anyone who likes Elvis or biographies.

[Abby B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who Was Elvis Presley
Geoff Edgers
Block 4

Who Was Elvis Presley, is a very interesting book about Elvis's life story. Some people might have thought that Elvis had a perfect life, but when you read this book you begin to wonder what went wrong. Elvis grew up in a very poor part of town with his mother and father. His family did not have much money growing up. As a young boy Elvis had a passion for music. Also, he had a very strong connection to his mother. His mother was a large part of his music career, by her constant support and encouragement. At a young age Elvis sang in a choir, and people began to notice his incredible talent for signing. Elvis's mother gave him a guitar and Elvis got to work teaching himself how to play perfect guitar. Amazingly, Elvis wrote a song for his mother, who he had a very deep love for and turned the song into a local radio station. Who would have ever guessed this could be the start of The Kings career!

While reading this telling book, I realized what a great message it had. I learned that you should never give up on your dreams. Even though Elvis Presley did not have a lot in his life, he didn't let anything stop him. His story made me understand that you can do anything if you set your mind to it! Sometimes if Elvis thought he could not do something, he tried even harder to get to his goal. I think that this is a very important characteristic because it proved that quiters will never reach their dreams and goals. Overall, Elvis is a big role model for kids now of days because he shows that you can have faith in yourself even if other people don't.

[Melissa Pendleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography of Elvis takes the reader through his life as a young child growing up in poverty to his struggles as a rock star. While I appreciate the comprehensive nature of the text, I do wonder if children will struggle with some of topics presented in the book. For example, young children may be confused by the dating age difference between Priscilla and Elvis or the mention of depression and repeated drug use. Also, children may not understand the complexity of Elvis' relationship with Colonel Parker. Edgers clearly presents the challenges associated with their friendship and partnership, and how Parker pushed Elvis into ill-advised decisions. While I actually think the book is well-written, I gave it 3 stars because of my concern with some of the content such as use of the word "sexy," pictures like that of an overweight Elvis stumbling on stage, descriptions of drug use, and more.

In the classroom, I'm not sure I would keep this book on my library shelf, and I definitely would not use in a whole class or small group setting. If I decided to include the text in my classroom, I would also include a note suggesting that students talk with their parents about any questions they have about the material in the text.

On a personal note, my son loves Elvis' music and movies. This is a book we have in our home, but we read it together, providing opportunities to discuss these troubling issues.