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Presents a biography of the Beatles
32 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 30, 2017
A great first biography on the Beatles for elementary students!! It stays away from the more complicated, difficult to explain attributes of this very popular band.
December 6, 2020
Compared to the previous kids' book about the Beatles I read, Who Were the Beatles?, this one is probably more entertaining. It has humorous, full colour, comic book style illustrations that will appeal to everyone.
Though it does make a big mistake on page 10. A photo of the Quarrymen is captioned as 1955, when, of course, the band wouldn't even exist for another one or two years! (This photo was taken July 6, 1957; it's a shame they didn't connect this photo to the day John met Paul, an event which is discussed in the book.)
Mistakes aside, the illustrations manage to highlight even some pretty obscure facts, like John Lennon attending Dovedale Primary School, or the red checkered shirt he wore and was photographed in (though in black and white) on July 6, 1957. And though this book is nearly three times shorter than Who Were the Beatles?, it manages to mention their vital and irreplaceable producer, George Martin, where the other book does not!
Technical innovations are mentioned in detail. Also, the author elevates the Beatles to rank among the most revered classical musicians, to help young readers understand what the fuss is about. The same level as Beethoven, even. Far from him having to "roll over", as the lyric goes, the two can co-exist in the upper echelons of music greatness. Finally, this book brims with actual comedy kids will appreciate. For example, read the joke blurb on the back cover, about the Roaches. it's a good bit. Well done.
One last random thing: the illustrations in this book remind me of those in the kids' grammar book The Girl's Like Spaghetti. This is a good thing. And P.S! There are a couple of rare photographs in this book you may not have seen before.
Though it does make a big mistake on page 10. A photo of the Quarrymen is captioned as 1955, when, of course, the band wouldn't even exist for another one or two years! (This photo was taken July 6, 1957; it's a shame they didn't connect this photo to the day John met Paul, an event which is discussed in the book.)
Mistakes aside, the illustrations manage to highlight even some pretty obscure facts, like John Lennon attending Dovedale Primary School, or the red checkered shirt he wore and was photographed in (though in black and white) on July 6, 1957. And though this book is nearly three times shorter than Who Were the Beatles?, it manages to mention their vital and irreplaceable producer, George Martin, where the other book does not!
Technical innovations are mentioned in detail. Also, the author elevates the Beatles to rank among the most revered classical musicians, to help young readers understand what the fuss is about. The same level as Beethoven, even. Far from him having to "roll over", as the lyric goes, the two can co-exist in the upper echelons of music greatness. Finally, this book brims with actual comedy kids will appreciate. For example, read the joke blurb on the back cover, about the Roaches. it's a good bit. Well done.
One last random thing: the illustrations in this book remind me of those in the kids' grammar book The Girl's Like Spaghetti. This is a good thing. And P.S! There are a couple of rare photographs in this book you may not have seen before.
October 22, 2010
The Beatles got famous pretty easily, but they did have to preserve for a short time by playing late at night. To make this fun, they told jokes on stage. Once the Beatles were famous, they had a hard time with autographs. Everybody was ambushing them. One of the band members, George, became discouraged when he was learning to play guitar, but his mom encouraged him to continue and he persevered. The drummer for the Beatles got sick when he was six from his appendix and then was in the hospital a lot until he was fifteen. He had to persevere in order to catch up. I am glad the Beatles persevered and made music because I like listening to it.
August 10, 2014
Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers, The Beatles is an entertaining and informative edition in Mike Venezia’s nonfiction collection on composers. My daughter and I have been a fan of Venezia’s other series on the U.S. Presidents, scientists, and artists; it was no surprise we would enjoy this book as well. His series are perfect for exposing elementary and junior high aged students to a large variety of topics with simple writing and memorable humorous comics.
September 27, 2009
When the Beatles were playing the music the people fell asleep. The lived in Liverpool. When John Lennon was old somebody killed him.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews