Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

This picture book on The Beatles is definitely written for kids, and that's not a bad thing at all. It hits all the high points, following the Fab Four individually (but superficially) from just before they meet and form the World's Greatest Band until the break up. There are no big revelations that most adults wouldn't already know, and no references to drug antics or general nastiness. While the drawings are more on the cartoonish side, I could actually see some influence of Lennon's art work in them, and felt they did a good job illustrating the action. It's all very clean and general, and a good guide for anyone wanting to introduce the next generation to the Beatles.

Two things did jump out at me, however. One is the mention, in a small frame about Strawberry Fields Forever, of how Lennon "escaped" to a remembered happy place. But it's the addition of the information that modern therapy techniques urge us all to visit a safe place in our heads when are worrying about something that pulled me totally out of my enjoyment of the reading. It was unnecessary and not a good extension for the story. Secondly--and this is something at which I just have to smile--there is an explanation of what a "single", an LP, and an EP are, including descriptions of the A side and B side. I am officially old.

This is a good picture book that will gently give the outline of the rise of the Beatles, and most adults will enjoy it as much as any child.

~taminator40