Last night my daughter was weeping and wailing during and after dinner because she had a loose tooth and everything made it hurt.
In an effort to distract her and get her to stop crying, my wife told her, “Go get the book you got at the library and show Daddy.” She came back with The History Of Rock For Big Fans And Little Punks, by Rita Nabais, ilustrated by Joanna Raimundo.
I was hooked from the minute I saw Axl and Slash in the upper left corner of the brilliantly colored cover. The cover art depicts the musicians in their most iconic looks -- Cobain in his green cardigan, Prince decked out in purple, Devo rocking their hats from the iconic “Whip It” video -- all instantly recognizable. Each page, with animated illustrations and highly accessible language, brings the musicians and their music to life.
The book, published in September by Triumph Books, is organized in chronological order, starting with the pioneers of rock music. I explained to my five-year-old daughter that these artists created all the music we love so much and hold so dear--I got a confused look for my trouble. Then, I yelled at Alexa to play “Johnny B. Goode.” My wife and I started singing along and smiling and I couldn’t help but think of Michael J. Fox slaying the song as Marty McFly at The Enchantment Under The Sea dance from “Back To The Future.” However, none of this erased the confusion from our daughter’s face.
As we flipped through the book, I gave my own opinions and commentary on each artist--Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, and Joan Jett. I impressed myself with how much I remembered. When we turned to a page profiling Eric Clapton, I asked, “That’s Clapton, do you know what people say about him?” She replied, “That he stole Geroge Harrison’s wife.” After a laugh, I explained, “No, actually, people say that he’s God.” This turned into the story about Jimmy Page selling his soul to the devil in order to play “Stairway to Heaven.” More confused looks. I mean, who could blame her? But I was enjoying this musical journey.
On each page of this book, musicians are artfully portrayed and profiled, with a callout box featuring the flag of the artists’ country of origin, the year their debut album was released, the musical genre, names of band members and a list of famous songs.
Despite my daughter’s loose tooth and confused looks, we had a great time reading this book together. I highly recommend it for all music lovers and their little rockers.